Halo: Rapture
by KTHM
Summary: Halo/BioShock Crossover. After the Arc the Chief thought all his missions were over. Then he finds himself trapped in a mysterious city with insane residents. Now he must escape with the help of an odd group survivors and uncover the mystery of Rapture.
1. Title Page

Halo: Rapture

Written By: KTHM

Co-Written By: Mortified Mind (Starting at Chapter Six)

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, BioShock, or anything you might recognize from other movies/games/books/poems or whatever else. I make no money from this, please do not sue me.

Claimer: All OCs are mine.

Concept: Halo/BioShock Crossover

Timeline: Just after the events in Halo 3

Main Character: Master Chief, Spartan 117, John

Support Characters: The BioShock cast and a near army of OCs to move the story along.

Summary: Years ago, before the Covenant made an appearance at Harvest, Andrew Ryan disappeared taking with him some of the greatest minds Earth and Her Colonies have to offer. No one has ever found out what has happened to them. Until now…

Warnings: Blood, Gore, language, spoilers from the Halo Novel Series, attempts of humor (starting at Chapter Six), insanity, all around mutilation of the BioShock story line, Harvey, trying to tie events from Halo into the BioShock universe. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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City In The Sea

By: Edgar Allen Poe

_Lo! Death has reared himself a throne_

_In a strange city lying alone_

_Far down within the dim west,_

_Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best_

_Have gone to their eternal rest._

_There shrines and palaces and towers_

_(Time-eaten towers that tremble not!)_

_Resemble nothing that is ours._

_Around, by lifting winds forgot,_

_Resignedly beneath the sky_

_The melancholy waters lie. _

_No rays from the holy heaven come down_

_On the long night-time of that town;_

_But light from out the lurid sea_

_Streams up the turrets silently-_

_Gleams up the pinnacles far and free_

_Up domes-up spires-up kingly halls-_

_Up fanes-up Babylon-like walls-_

_Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers_

_Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers-_

_Up many and many a marvelous shrine_

_Whose wreathed friezes intertwine_

_The viol, the violet, and the vine. _

_Resignedly beneath the sky_

_The melancholy waters lie._

_So blend the turrets and shadows there_

_That seem pendulous in air,_

_While from a proud tower in the town _

_Death looks gigantically down._

_There open fanes and gaping graves_

_Yawn level with the luminous waves;_

_But not the riches there that lie_

_In each idol's diamond eye-_

_Not the gaily-jeweled dead_

_Tempt the waters from their bed;_

_For no ripples curl, alas!_

_Alone that wilderness of glass-_

_No swellings tell that winds may be _

_Upon some far-off happier sea-_

_No heavings hint that winds have been_

_On seas less hideously serene._

_But lo, a stir is in the air!_

_The wave-there is movement there!_

_As if the towers had thrust aside,_

_In slightly sinking, the dull tide-_

_As if their tops had feebly given_

_A void within the flimsy Heaven._

_The waves have now a redder glow-_

_The hours are breathing faint and low-_

_And when, amid no earthly moans,_

_Down, down that town shall settle hence,_

_Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,_

_Shall do it reverence. _


	2. Welcome to Rapture

Halo: Rapture

Chapter One: Welcome to Rapture

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Lights are flickering on an off. It's freezing; my suit's heater must be malfunctioning. Though, from all my suit has been through, I'd be surprised if any of my suits functions work at all.

I think my armor is locked up again, I am vaguely aware that I am lying on my back. I must also be in an elevator, if the downwards motion of the floor is anything to go by. It is the floor isn't it? My head is foggy and I can't think straight. Almost like I've been drugged but I know that's not true.

I force my eyes to open as the hum of the elevator makes its way into me ears. Oh, my armor isn't locked; my limbs are just very stiff. Wasn't I in a Cryo Tube? Yes, Cortana put me in a Cryo Tube so I wouldn't suffocate to death in deep space.

Wait. Cortana? I don't think she's here. If she was here, she probably would have spoken to me by now. Wait a second…I remember…..a crash….and water…sea water…….fire….a structure on an island…grabbing Cortana's chip before swimming towards the structure…..and a pod like vehicle, like a small submarine.

Yes, I remember now. Cortana woke me from the Cryo Tube just as, what was left of the ship, crashed into the ocean of an unknown planet. The structure that housed the pod vehicle that I'm currently in was more like an old fashion light house then anything else. I think it was emitting an UNSC distress beacon though. I think.

Blinking and forcing myself to sit up, I take stock of my situation. I'm in an unknown pod vehicle traveling to, who knows where. That's not good. My limbs are stiff to the point of being unable to move. That's really not good. I have no real wounds, as far as I can tell. That's good. None of my suit's systems are functioning. This includes vitals, lights, motion tracker, shields, and air supply. That is definitely not good, but something I can make do without. The armor itself is dinged up but in a workable condition, it should protect me from most things without its shield.

As for my weapon situation, I have the Arbiter's energy sword that he had dropped as we crashed into the hanger before the Arc blew up. It has a decent enough charge in it. That's good. I also have a M6G Pistol, but it's empty. That's…okay, I can find more later, or just throw it away for a better weapon.

The pod is coming to a stop. Standing up as quickly as I could, I grab the energy sword and switch it on. I notice the pod's interior for the first time, it's rather…Spartan. Hard wood floors and two plush couches with red trimmings. Actually it looks like something from a Jules Vern novel. The pod comes to a complete stop and the door opens.

My eyes immediately search for any actual threats. None. All's quiet. I reluctantly put the energy sword away. After identifying no threats, I take in my actual surroundings.

I'm in a sort of port. There were at least twenty different pods lined evenly across from one another. A sign proclaimed: Oceanus's Dock. Ah yes, Oceanus, the Greek titan of the never ending stream. Fitting.

Stepping out onto the red and gold carpet I saw signs above each and every pod, or as a sign called them, Bathyspheres. Taking in the rest of the surroundings I decide that it looks as if it was made in Earth's early twentieth century except the technology is too modern for that.

The fact that the published date on the newspapers on the newsstand tells me the paper stopped being written when I was about twenty-five. None of the dates I see go passed then. Something bad happened in this place.

Suddenly a loud, metallic noise distracts me from my musings. Spinning around to where the noise came from I see giant shutters uncovering equally giant windows. Water. I'm underwater. Somehow I expected that. What I didn't expect was the view of the city that I received.

The design was definitely from the early twentieth century. There were building like sky scrapers and neon signs. I caught sight of a whale like creature gliding effortlessly between the buildings. All and all it was like Atlantis made in the 1940's. Very impressive. But who would make a city like this? Better yet, where did they go? A city like this must have had a lot of people. This thought disturbs me.

Turning away from the impressive sight I look at all the places the Bathyspheres lead. I need…there! Medical Pavilion. Stepping into the Bathysphere that is an identical to the one I came down in, I pull the lever and feel it move under my feet.

First order of business, get my health in order, make certain that I have no injuries. If I do, they need to be dealt with. Either by me or a trained medical professional. Somehow I doubt I'm going to run into a doctor.

I also need to find a way to repair my suit. Not to mention find a way to repair Cortana. Of course, my situation could be hostile. If that's the case I need to find weapons, or at least ammo. But my ultimate goal is to get out of here and contact the UNSC somehow.

With this in mind I pull out the energy sword, but don't activate just as the Bathysphere pulls to a stop.

I'm in a lobby. As far as I can tell. My eyes survey my surroundings cautiously as I slowly step out of the pod. I'm just about to put the sword back on my leg holster when I'm slammed in the back of the head.

I hit the ground hard and the Arbiter's sword is sent flying across the tiled floor. Sensing another blow I roll out of the way and jump to my feet. Combat instincts kick in, however I'm slower then I'd like to be. That rude awakening from the Cryo sleep did quite a number on me.

My attacker screams and lunges at me once again. I grab my attacker's wrench before it can connect with my head again. My fist connects with its chin and it topples over with a shriek. Is that bunny mask? No time for that. I dodge as it tries to kick me.

That's when, to my surprise, it spits fire at me. Like a mythical dragon. My surprise hinders my reaction time. I duck but the fire stream manages to catch my left arm. It chares and blackens my armor and I can hear the gel layer sizzle but it remains in place.

I roll away just as more fire streams towards me. I need the sword. Jumping away from more fire I run towards the sword. I can feel heat just miss my right leg. I dive towards the sword and grab its handle just as another fire spray hits where I was moments ago. Not for the first time I'm thankful for my speed.

Turning the sword on, I lunge at the attacker as it screams in more rage. Impaling the creature, it falls like a rag doll to the ground.

I get my first good look at my assailant. Its face was covered in a bunny mask but it had fallen off in our battle. I can see why it was wearing it, though. The things looked grotesque and dirty. It was obviously insane as well. How did it spit fire?

Shaking my head I check my burned arm. It was charred but not overly damaged. I need to avoid getting hit with this arm from now on. My flesh however feels a bit pained but I don't think any real damage was taken.

Moving back towards the hallways I'm extra cautious. I know I'm going to run into more of those things. The lights are flickering on and off, papers are strewn everywhere, once nice furniture is broken and scattered, and blood on the walls and floor. Isn't this lovely?

I frown. I've become sarcastic. I was never like this before…well, before Earth was invaded by the Covenant. Since then, I've become short tempered, insubordinate to superior officers, sarcastic, and losing focus. I'm losing touch, and have become disinterested. Disenchanted.

Moving on I come to, what appears to be a waiting room. I hear footsteps skittering away. Great. Keeping my ears open I move towards the secretary's desk. Secretaries always have useful information.

I'm digging through the drawers when I hear it. At first I spin around so quickly my head spun and my energy sword is in my hand just as quickly.

"My daddy is smarter then Einstein, stronger then Hercules, and can light a fire with a snap of his fingers. Are you as good as my daddy, mister? Not if you don't visit the Gatherer's Garden you aren't. Smart daddies get spliced at the garden."

It's a metallic little girl's voice coming from a red vending machine with a representation of two children. On it is written: Gatherer's Garden. Above that is a sign saying: Plasmids.

Putting my energy sword down but not away I move cautiously towards the strange vending machine. I see a hypodermic needle filled with a red substance in it. My better judgment is screaming at me to put the needle down and leave but for some reason my instincts say other wise.

I grab the needle and move it over one of the areas that are built into the suit in case a Spartan needs medical attention. Its easier then taking the entire suit off. I inject the needle.

Gasping, I stumble backwards. My vision is going blurry. I feel intense static electricity jumping through my veins. I'm having trouble breathing as I see spots in my eyes. I drop to my knees and tumble onto the ground heavily. This hurts just as bad as the augmentation process did back when I was still in training.

Just before my vision goes black I see another one of those things come up to me. This one has a butterfly mask on and it has a sharp looking pole. Uh oh. I let out a scream as another wave of pain hits me just as the pole is stabbed through my abdomen. I fall unconscious.

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"Who's this? Another one of Ryan's creations?" I can just barely make out what he is saying. I can't even open my eyes.

"I don't think so. Hmmm, maybe he still has some ADAM on 'em." Suddenly an ominous roar sounds near by.

"Come on, let's get out of here." His voice has an edge of panic to it.

"Coward!"

"I don't care. We don't have enough ammo to take care of a Big Daddy." The man's friend grumbles to himself but agrees when another roar sounds, closer this time. I hear their feet running off just as I black out again.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I hear the roar again, this time it sounds from right next to me accompanied by a foul stench, makes me wish my helmet's filters were working. I blurrily open my eyes to see a creature wearing an old fashion diving suit with a drill. Again, it looks like something Jules Vern dreamt up.

The thing roars again as a little girl, maybe six, in a dirty pink party dress and glowing eyes walks up to stand beside it. She's holding a large needle with the same red substance from earlier. Her pallor is of a greenish color.

"Look Mr. Bubbles, it's an angel. I can see light coming from his belly. Wait a minute…he's still breathing. That's okay; I know he'll be an angel soon. Come on Mr. Bubbles." Her voice doesn't sound normal.

I pass out once again as I hear Mr. Bubble's metal footsteps and the little girl's tuneless song moving away from me.

**-END OF CHAPTER ONE-**

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Author's Notes: 

Hello, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I look forward to reviews. However, I would like it to be noted that I prefer constructive criticism.

Anyway, I have to tell you that I have up to Chapter Nine written already (I've been posting on Mibba) and I have the rest of the story planned out. All I have to do is proof read and smooth out the chapters written and write the other chapters.

One last thing. Instead of it being Little Sisters, I have made it Little Siblings because I happen to be a girl and find it completely unfair. Let the boys share in our misery. Besides my Co-Writer (who is my brother) could care less, so it stays. Not only that but I have something planned for a few of the Little Brothers.

-KTHM

Co-Author's Notes: 

Dear Readers,

You'll notice in the first chapters that that things are a little rocky. We were trying different directions before settling on one. Rest assured later chapters are much smoother and make quite a bit more sense.

I have little to say because I did not help write this chapter at all. I only helped writing in Chapter Six, so until then I'll have little to nothing to say.

-Mortified Mind


	3. Medical Pavilion

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Two: Medical Pavilion

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My eyes once again open. I feel…better. I suppose. Pushing myself up, I look around for anyone. No one around, as far as I can tell. Then I remember.

I was stabbed. Looking down at my abdomen, I see my skin unmarked but this of course means I have a hole in my gel layer. Perfect, but at least I'm alive.

I feel a tingle and cool air on my hand. I jerk my gaze to said left hand. The gel layer had completely sizzled off and the metal part had fallen off. Electricity was running through my veins in a morbid way. It tingled oddly but I know that, eventually, I'll come to ignore it.

Experimentally I flick my wrist, purely on instinct, and an electric bolt comes out of my hand and hits harmlessly against the wall. That's…interesting. Certainly would've been helpful during the war. Oh well.

I move back towards the secretary's desk. Apparently the secretary worked for a woman named Dr. Kirk Harrison. From the papers I can tell that Kirk is one of the top four doctors of this city, Rapture. His competition is a plastic surgeon named Steinman, a scientist named Tenenbaum, and a Chinese scientist named Suchong. This information might be useful later.

The desk, aside from that information, is mostly empty. Getting up and looking around, I don't see much else, aside from the two sets of doors. One leads to the Bathysphere, the other leads towards to who knows where. None of my questions will get answered on their own though.

I'm heading towards the unknown doors when I hear an alarm sound and the lights take on a red hue. My instincts are screaming for me to get out of the area. A voice comes in through a loud speaker.

"What can I do with this one Aphrodite? I want to make them beautiful but they always come out wrong! This intruder, he's too ugly Aphrodite! Cut his heart out! Tear him to bits! I want to see him bleed!"

A shriek comes from the ceiling and three Splicers jump down. Banging is heard from a maintenance access door.

I grab The Arbiter's energy sword and activate it. The three lunge at me at the same time. I dodge and slash, taking off an arm just as the maintenance door breaks off its hinges. The wounded Splicer shrieks in rage and pain.

I disjointedly notice that five Splicers have come through the broken door. One of them has a gun, looks like a standard issue assault rifle. Must take him out first.

Dodging and moving as randomly as I can to minimize the chance of being hit, I slash my way through. I briefly notice that I had cut off one of the Splicer's head. Turning my attention back to the big problem I'm able to drop to the ground and roll away quickly just as the Splicers opens fire at where my head was moments before.

Rolling to my knees I slash at the nearest Splicer. The monstrous shrieks coming from the creatures are becoming deafening. I'm on my feet again and dodging sideways as more ammo is used on my body, missing by mere centimeters.

One of the Splicers manages to tackle me as my attention was focused on the gun wielding one. Hitting the ground hard I manage to hang onto my sword, small miracles.

Shooting my left hand out, I manage to zap an Electro Bolt at the Splicer carrying the rifle. I elbow the one on top of me in the face hard enough to stun it for a moment as I throw it off of me.

Jumping to my feet, I impale the Splicer holding the assault rifle just as I hear the sound of more footsteps. How many are there going to be?

Suddenly, the loud speakers flare to life again. At first, I think it's the insane man who sent the Splicers on me but am greeted with a different voice.

"I've managed to hack the door. Get out of there quickly before it shuts closed again!"

Not having to be told twice I make a break for the door, Splicers hot on my trail. Pushing the double doors open I quickly close them and hold them closed as I hear the locking mechanism come to life.

Allowing a relieved breath escape my lips, my eyes scan the hallway I've come to. No Splicers.

Blinking down I notice the energy sword and the assault rifle I grabbed without thinking.

"Good you made it. I'm Dr. Kirk Harrison. I have no idea how you got here and I'm not going to ask. I saved your life because I've got a deal to make you. Come to my office so we can speak face to face. I don't exactly want Steinman, the crazy bastard that sent those Splicers after you, listening in. Your close, just follow the hallway your in. Soon you'll come to the surgery wing. After that, just follow the signs."

The speakers go dead. Not seeing much choice, I slowly walk down the hallway as silently as I can, keeping close to the walls.

There's blood everywhere. Like a hospital from hell. A guy like Steinman really fits in here, so do those Splicers.

I frown; wishing the rest of Blue Team was here with me. Or at least the Arbiter or maybe Johnson. But Johnson is dead and who knows what happened to the Arbiter. Most of all however, I wish Cortana was here. This is too much like Flood infested High Charity.

We've been through so much and she dies in a water landing. Ironic. I jerk and spin around as I feel as if someone has just put a hand on my shoulder. No one's there. Great, I'm starting to go insane too. Soon I'll be like one of those Splicers.

I push open a door to what looks like another waiting room, a sign reads: Surgery Wing. This room has more blood and junk in it then any other place I've been. Several bodies litter the floor.

Anticipating another fight, I hold my new assault rifle close as I walk towards the doors that lead me deeper into the maze of hallways.

As I'm pushing the doors open I hear the speakers flare to life.

"Why is it that we have two eyes, is there a law that says we must? Two eyes, two legs, two breasts, two arms. Then it occurred to me that I can improve on what god failed to do. The human body is ugly and riddled with faults!" Sensing another conflict, I hasten to get through the door and out of the area.

"Don't worry about him, now that you're in the Surgery Wing he can't do much but talk. I've got this place under a tight leash."

Dr. Harrison's words hardly comfort me. I see a sign at the end of the hall:

_Chief of Surgery, Dr. Harrison's Office (Right)  
_

_Tonic Station (Left)_

I frown at that. Tonic Station? What is a Tonic Station? I've never heard of such a thing. Then again I've never heard of anyone shooting lightning bolts from their hands.

"Maybe you should visit a Tonic Station. They can be dead useful in combat."

I give an irritated grumble at the lack of information but follow his advice anyway. Harrison knows more about this place then I do.

Turning left, I pass several closed doors, figuring that the 'Tonic Station' is at the end of the hall. I can hear noises coming from a couple of rooms and I have no desire to walk in on any of the insane residents of this place.

The room at the end of the hall nearly makes me do a double take when I see the technology in the room. Forerunner technology. I'd recognize it anywhere. Where in the world did they find Forerunner equipment?

Taking a step towards the capsule like thing that reminds me of a Cryo Tube, I notice that instead of the Customary Forerunner symbols I see obvious human writing.

_TONIC CHAMBER_

So, what do I do? Times like this I really wish Cortana was here. She'd be able to figure this out.

"Alright, see that computer there; I want you to select a Tonic that you think will come in handy best. The machine should have enough ADAM already stored in it to at least give you one Tonic."

I look at the screen to see several different Tonic options with details beside them. Hmmmm. Static Discharge. That could come in big handy.

Touching the screen to select the Static Discharge, I see the chamber let out a stream of mist and open.

"Alright, just get inside and let the machine do its work. It shouldn't take more then fifteen minutes, give or take. It should work with that suit of yours on. At least it works through clothes so I don't see why it shouldn't work on your armor."

I eye the chamber critically but decide that it couldn't possibly be worse then anything else I've faced. Getting in I find, to my surprise, a gel like layer that I immediately sink into.

The door of the chamber closes with a hiss and I find myself drifting off to sleep. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I wake up again just as the chamber door hisses open again and the gel recedes. Climbing out of the chamber groggily, I find my limbs are stiffer then before and my head feels like it's full of water.

Looking around the room, I had yet to actually inspect, I see a table shoved up against a wall.

Limping over to it I see, what looks like, a standard recording chip. Audio only. I need rest and the curiosity is killing me. So, making myself comfortable on the floor I insert the chip into my helmet while hoping that at least this part of my suit will work.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_"Clinical trial of LOT 56. Dr. Suchong, Client Fontaine Futuristics. Subsequent trial of LOT 56 have been….disappointing but within an acceptable range. The Plasmid, codenamed: Winter Blast, freezes the target but only for a short time. The other problem is that everything the victim was holding also shatters and is completely useless if host is destroyed. _

_"However, I have improved it enough so that the subject infused with the Plasmid doesn't completely freeze over. Now, it's just the hand down to the person's elbow. This makes it very hard to move fingers and wrist but otherwise doesn't pose much of a problem. I suppose I can put this out on the market now as it is. Just don't mention how much your body temperature drops while using LOT 56. Bad for business." _

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I notice another Hypodermic needle; it's empty except there is a bottle of the red substance next to it. I suppose that is LOT 56. Winter Blast.

Feeling apprehensive I pick up the needle and the bottle. Filling it with red substance for reasons that are beyond me at this point, I inject it into my veins just as I did the Electro Bolt. I suddenly realize that just about none of my decisions since coming here have been good ones.

I feel like I'm in a subzero temperature as my veins freeze over. It isn't as bad as the Electro Bolt but still bad. All I can do is ride out the transformation. I almost wish I had been put to sleep like in the chamber. Damn, cold was an understatement.

Looking at my hand I couldn't help but stare. Ice shards are sticking out of it and frost covers my entire arm down to my elbow. I can just barely move my fingers.

Great, I'm a walking Tesla Coil and now a snow man. Could my life get any better? Sighing, I get up off the floor and begin my (hopefully uneventful) trek to Harrison's office.

My hopes are all for not. I see a Splicer dallying in the hallway. It spins around when it hears me push the door open.

For a second, just for a second, we stare at each other. Then the door clicks shut loudly behind me. The spell is broken and it lunges at me. My hand jerks on instinct and I hit it square in the chest with the Winter Blast.

It freezes over completely. Walking up to it, fascinated, I notice that it may be frozen for a moment but it's already starting to melt. Rearing back my fist I punch it as hard as I can, shattering it instantly.

Despite myself, I smile in satisfaction. Yes, Winter Blast might be the coldest thing I've ever felt, but it's useful.

Moving on, I continue towards Harrison's office. Follow the signs. Chief of Surgery. Wonder what kind of deal he wants to make.

I come across a woman's corpse. She's been slaughtered.

"She was beautiful once. My Aphrodite. She looked at my face and cut me to a thousand beautiful pieces. But soon I realized that Aphrodite wasn't as beautiful as I once thought. Not without ADAM. Nothing is beautiful without ADAM."

Harrison doesn't say anything this time. Neither do I. Leave the insane bastard to his delusions. I finally come across oak doors with the sign: Chief of Surgery.

"Just come in, the door's unlocked…for the moment anyway."

Pushing the double doors open I see an oak desk with papers strewn across it, several stale cups of coffee. A large monitoring station takes up a wall; the screens show different parts of the Surgery Wing and a couple of other places. Security Cameras. Unlike most of the other rooms I've been to, this one actually appears clean. No blood or anything. I've decided to take this as a good sign.

Through a set of double a door an older man emerges. He has the customary doctor's coat and is writing in a notepad urgently. The man's hair is white and a set of glasses cover his eyes. I suppose this is Dr. Harrison. Said man looks up at me and then turns to the monitors before speaking.

"You took your sweet time getting here. You know you look shorter on camera. What are you seven feet? No matter, strip down and get on the examination table. Let's have a look at you." Okay I take that back, maybe he is nuts.

"Excuse me?" He looks back at me oddly as he moves back towards the doors he had just come out of.

"You did notice that half of your arm is charred to bits?" Surprised I look down at my arm, it doesn't look that bad.

"Hm. You must have something wrong with your brain as well. Better examine that too. I'm not much of a neurologist but it can't be that difficult, it's not brain surgery after all."

"…"

"I'm kidding. You soldier types can't take a joke. I have a machine that does it for me." I follow him through the door and take a seat on the examination table. The room is completely taken up by a large computer terminal and an examination table. The computer obviously does a bunch of different things.

"Lay back please. Just to let you know, this might feel a little weird. And if you experience any pain…well, there's nothing I can do about that."

This doesn't bode well. I hear a click a soft buzz and a bluish white light appears. It moves over my body causing a slight ticklish sensation. Moves back down to my feet becoming a darker blue. Slight ticklish sensation is becoming steadily uncomfortable.

"Relax or it's going to hurt worse then it should."

"Worse?" I tense up and a sharp pain shoots through my body.

"I told you." I just turn my head and glare at him. He pays no attention to me as he is looking at a holographic display at my body. My medical information included. He stares at it for a while and turns back to me with a frown.

"This looks familiar."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, never mind. Do you perhaps know a Catherine Halsey?"

"Yes."

"Thought so. These augmentation look like her work. Through with several improvements. Hm. Is one of your parents by chance, an extraterrestrial?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, how should I put this? Your DNA has a foreign genome structure attached to your normal one. Definitely not human. This however does explain several things I might add."

"How so?" He gives me a sarcastic look.

"Weeelll…. Let's start with the obvious. Shall we. Your burned arm is healing on its own accord at an extreme rate. Not normal rate for a human I might add. Second. How many of those Plasmids and Tonics have you injected?"

"Three."

"Yes well, that may not seem like a lot but normally people are advised to only take one in a seventy-two hour period. Otherwise their genetic structure breaks down. Yours looks very healthy. Unnaturally so. Not only are these foreign genes keeping you stable but they are also regulating them allowing you to Splice more then usual. Definitely more then most."

"What do you mean stable?"

"Well, usually if someone takes more then the recommended amount they are subjected to….difficulties. Such as…um… blindness, insanity, extreme paranoia, death."

"Oh."

"Yes. Oh, Indeed. You wouldn't happen to know where you got these foreign genes?"

I close my eyes and think back to every encounter with the Covenant. No. Nothing. Wait…oh, yeah, that encounter. I forgot about that. Or tried my best to.

"How much do you know about the Flood?"

"Flood? What's that? You should probably keep in mind that Rapture has been completely cut off from the rest of the universe for years."

"So… you don't know about the Covenant?"

"No." He's tapping his foot now.

"This'll take while."

"As long as you explain something."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I spend three hours explaining…well…everything. Starting with the Spartan program, the contact at Harvest, the Human and Covenant War, Halo, Earth, the OTHER Halo, Earth again, The Arc… and most of all…. Gravemind.

That seemed to keep the doctor's interest.

"So, you were bit by one of the infection forms on the first Halo you visited? But it did nothing?"

"Not that anyone could tell."

"Show me your neck."

Sitting up I take off my helmet so he can look at where I was bitten. Examining it for a while.

"Have you experienced any odd sensations? Numbness, sharp pains, a high sensitivity to the Flood?"

"All. Especially with the Gravemind."

"How so?"

"He was able to communicate with me inside my mind. It wasn't pleasant."

"And…..you didn't say anything to anyone?"

"…..No. As I said nothing happened. I seemed to be fine. Besides I had other priorities."

"What effects did the Gravemind have on you when he sent you the 'visions'?"

"I think one of the marines commented that my heart stopped."

"Yeah and that's not pretty goddamned serious right?" He says in a sarcastic tone.

"Has this had any effect on your behavior? Like. Have you become increasingly rash, more impulsive shall we say." Thinking back to the battle of the Arc I remember having a lot more close calls then I would have. Not to mention just injecting those plasmids without a thought. That was stupid.

"Yes."

"Other then this, your fine. Aside from your charred arm. But it's healing quickly. Anyway to the actual point of why I wanted to see you."

"Yes?"

"Steinman." He hissed the name. They don't like each other.

"Steinman killed my wife. I want him dead. In exchange for this favor I'll repair your communication device in your suit, and get you in contact with someone who can help you get out of this hellhole. How does that sound?"

"Better then nothing. Where is he?"

"Just follow the blood."

"Why'd he kill your wife?"

"Because she was too symmetrical."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Just follow the blood. Understatement. There's blood everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, even the goddamned ceiling. Whatever happened to: "I shall do no harm."?

I'm coming up on the Plastic Surgery section and the blood and smell of death is getting thicker. This must be the place. Looks wonderful.

I walk down a set of stairs and notice a shotgun with a box of ammo sitting in the middle of the floor next to a corpse. It has more in it then the assault rifle. Dropping the rifle I pick up the shotgun only for most of the lights to go off.

AMBUSH!

Good thing I can see in the dark. I hear the footsteps and insane laughter. I pump the shotgun after loading it and spin towards the sounds. I hear a voice behind me.

"The doctor is in."

Wonderful. Just what I need. I spin around and shoot him. Another one appears and I freeze him with the Winter Blast. His friend ends up running into him and knocks him to the ground. Shattered instantly. I shoot his friend as he looks at his broken comrade.

More footsteps. Judging from the sound, I count ten. Suddenly I get a strong feeling to duck. Doing just that a wrench swings past where my head was moments ago. Killing another Splicer who got in the way.

Nine to go.

I dodge as a pistol is fired towards where I was. Apparently the Splicers can't see in the dark that well. The shot ends up blinding a couple of them.

I shoot another one in the chest and find he is gone when I look again. Definitely not down for the count. I see from the corner of my eye the man I had shot suddenly appear out of thin air.

"Hello beautiful." It then shoots fire at me. I duck out of the way behind a fallen column. I notice that the Splicers are gathered around him. I also notice that they are all standing in a puddle of water that is dripping from the ceiling. On instinct, I urge my Electro Bolt to come to life. Lo and behold it does. Without thinking I fire into the puddle. Toaster in a bath tub.

Charred Splicer doesn't smell good. They drop like rocks. Except my friend Houdini who has teleported behind me with a wrench. He lands a lucky shot at my shoulder but is thrown back by a charge of electricity shooting out of my body. Static discharge. I thought it'd be useful.

Taking out my shotgun I put one round through his head. He isn't teleporting anymore. Bastard.

The lights come on suddenly. More blood. Not that you can really tell the difference. I had misjudged the amount of Splicers that I had hit with the Electro Bolt. Fifteen. I'm glad I saw the puddle.

Moving on down the hallway cautiously, I can't help but feel disgusted by all the blood. Don't get me wrong, I'm not squeamish by any means. I've been on plenty of battle fields. Seen my comrades die. But the blood just looks so out of place in this grand city.

How can all these intelligent people let it go to rot? How can they do this to themselves even? Doesn't sound smart to me.

Walking down the hallway I hear Dr. Harrison. "Welcome to Rapture. The universe's greatest junk heap."

No kidding. I come through a door to see more destruction. The ceiling beams are ripped from their places and leaning on the ground or against walls. There are fires and leaks. Strangely none of the leaks actually leak onto a fire. Go figure.

I hear a roar from my old friend Mr. Bubbles. A Splicer is thrown against the wall right beside me becoming a rag doll. He sounds mad. Mr. Bubbles is cornering another Splicer.

"It's a Big Daddy. They protect the Little Siblings. Don't bother them and he doesn't bother you. Unfortunately you'll need some of the ADAM she carries to progress through that door. You don't have enough in your body to get you through the next obstacle. Steinman might not sound tough but he can take out several of those Big Daddies by himself. If you want to beat him, you've got to be tougher."

How do you suggest I do that? I can't actually ask him because he has yet to repair my communication device. He seems to interpret my thoughts anyway.

"You have to get passed the Big Daddy to get to the Little Sister that's with him."

Get passed. Big Daddy. Little sister. Looking at the drill on Mr. Bubbles I can't help but be a little pessimistic. That drill is the size of me. And he wants me to take care of that thing? Give me a pair of Hunters any day compared to that thing.

"Ah, don't worry, he's not that tough. I guess. Then again I've never faced one before. I've treated plenty who have, but not myself. Hm. Then again people usually end up in the morgue rather then my examination room." That's comforting. Studying Mr. Bubbles for weaknesses I can tell he's hurt.

Sighing to myself, I realize I have to get him mad. Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun. I notice that he turned his attention to the Little sister.

"I'm ready for dream time Mr. Bubbles."

I'll have to do it now then. Sighing again, I take out my shotgun. Ready. Not really. Aim. Check. Fire. BANG!

I hear an ear shattering roar. His eyes turn blood red as it spins around and looks at me. Yes. He's mad. He charges at me with blinding speed. I wait for the last second to duck out of the way.

"Get him Mr. B! Get him!" That kid's really pushing it.

The drill hit's the wall and gets stuck. I notice a beam just above him. I take my chances and shoot at its support. It crashes down on him just as he unstuck his drill.

Dead.

The Little sister runs passed me and goes to Mr. Bubble's corpse.

"Why won't you get up Mr. Bubbles?!" She sobs. Now what?

"You're going to have to get the ADAM from her. Take the slug out. By the way. The sea slugs that the ADAM comes from are implanted into the Little Siblings. That's why they carry ADAM. But if a slug is removed, it kills them. Like removing a terminal patient from life support."

That's sick. I approach her not sure what I'm going to do or if I can do it. For some reason I remember the Spartan training. She would have been Kelly's age when I first met her.

A gunshot hits just above my head.

"Stay away from her or the next one goes through your head!" I see a woman on the balcony. She's wielding a UNSC standard issue handgun.

"Easy now Dr. Tenenbaum. He just needs some ADAM. Just enough to get by."

"I will not have him hurt my Little Ones. Have you no heart?"

"That's a pretty speech coming from you. Especially since you were the one who put those slugs in the children in the first place. You and I know both know this is the way of life down here. We trade lives for others."

"There is another way." She tosses a hypodermic needle filled with the red substance.

"This'll help you free them from their torment…. I'll give you assistance wherever I can. It won't be much, but every little bit helps down here."

Taking the hypo needles I inject it. Why not. I need every bit of help I can find. I didn't want to kill the girl anyway.

My hands become a bright translucent white. This one was different from the others it felt warm, a sharp contrast to the Winter Blast.

Looking back towards where the Little Sister was I see she's gone but I hear a noise behind a crate. Pushing the crate out of the way I'm met with her eerie glowing eyes. Picking her up with one hand I place my other hand on her forehead. Meanwhile she is fighting me.

"No! No, no, no!" then she goes limp as her face and body glows the same color as my hand is.

A flash of light blinds me for a moment before it passes. Sitting her down quickly, she looks like she's going to vomit.

She retches up the same red substance that is in the needles I find and the jar. ADAM. I use the needle Tenenbaum gave me to collect the substance.

The little girl looks up at me. Her eyes are normal and her skin is a normal color now.

"Thank you Mister. You saved me."

"Find somewhere safe. I doubt this place will be Splicer free for long."

She runs towards a porthole like thing in the wall. I give her a boost up because it's a bit too high for her. She gives me a final wave then leaves.

"Saving them doesn't give you as much ADAM as it would if you killed them. But it certainly makes you feel good inside. Now find a Gatherer's Garden, or a Tonic Station."

Harrison's voice once again leaves. I glance at Mr. Bubble's corpse one last time before moving out of the room.

**-END OF CHAPTER TWO-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note:

Hello Everyone,

When I re-read this chapter I realized I probably wasn't very clear on how the Flood affect John's system in regards to the Plasmids.

The Infection Form that bit John was destroyed by his Shield Generator (controlled by Cortana) before it could take him over. However, the Infection Form had started the ground work for the transformation, when it wasn't finished (or initiated) the Flood changes laid dormant because there was no Gravemind at the time.

When a Gravemind did form on Installation 05, it triggered a slow transformation to John's DNA but with no Infection Form resident in his body it couldn't do much. This is also how Gravemind and Cortana were able to send him images.

Now in relation to the Plasmids, the Flood genes are manipulating the ADAM and mimicking the effects of an implanted Slug. Now when a Slug is implanted into a Little Sibling it basically becomes a parasite, just like the Flood (but with differences) and ADAM comes from the Sea Slug. So, obviously the Flood would try to be the dominate parasite inside its host.

Now Flood genes are acting as a pseudo-Sea Slug, creating EVE and regulating ADAM intake which allows him to inject and incorporate more Plasmids and Tonics into his system. This is also the reason why he doesn't need EVE injections, the Flood creates ADAM.

This makes sense in my twisted head and keep in mind this is a FanFiction. Also, sincere apologies if I have confused you in any way and if you remain confused just ask your questions and I'll answer them. If I get a lot of question I'll open a Q&A section.

Thanks for your time,

KTHM

P.S. Sorry, forgot to say. The reason why the Flood genes really seemed to have woken up all of a sudden was because of the intake of Plasmids. The Flood awakening was the reason why he healed so quickly when he was impaled by the pole. 


	4. Steinman's Requiem

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Three: Steinman's Requiem

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I've been walking for thirty minutes in seemingly endless hallways and medical facilities. I've seen more organized Grunts in battle. What makes it worse is that my only directions are coming from Harrison and he isn't exactly the most coordinated person.

With a bad feeling in my stomach that I'm going the wrong way, I push open a pair of swinging doors that lead to another blood stained hallway. There's nothing surprising about this, what is surprising however is that a man with full surgical gear (very bloody surgical gear, of course) is pushing a gurney with a very mutilated corpse.

"I am beautiful, aren't I." It's a statement not a question, directed at the corpse. He hasn't noticed me yet.

"Tell me, do you know where Aphrodite has gone. It's been so long since I've seen her. I'm not worried though, I know she will come back when I've finished my master piece. You could have been my master piece but you simply are much too ugly to even work with. Though I tried. You know I tried." The man that I know is Steinman hums softly to himself as he glances into a room that has its door hanging off its hinges.

"Between you and me, I believe that my dear Aphrodite is becoming impatient. She's very beautiful when she's angry, did you know that? No, of course not, she wouldn't even consider making a visit to the likes of you. You disgust her. My dear, dear Aphrodite, don't worry I'll have my master piece finished. Just as soon as I find the right clay." He glares down at the corpse as if it has offended him.

"No! That's utterly ridiculous. How could you even suggest it! But then again you're not an artist are you. I couldn't expect you to understand. So, it's to the furnace with you. It'll please my dear Aphrodite to see you burn." He suddenly looks up from the corpse and sees me.

"An intruder! In my sanctum?! How dare you come here!" Sensing a conflict as he reaches into one of his pockets, I take cover behind an upturned gurney. Not much cover but it'll have to do. I risk a look at Steinman to see that he has flipped over the gurney that the corpse was on and is taking cover behind it.

The lights turn a shade of red and the alarm goes off. Great more Splicers. But before I can do anything, I hear the tell tale sign of a grenade being activated.

Instincts take over and I dive away from the gurney just in time to see the grenade land not far from where I was. All I can do is curl up in a ball to minimize the chance of being hit by shrapnel and cover my head. Just before the explosion scorches the back of my armor I hear the sound of double doors swinging shut. Steinman got away.

I pick myself up from the floor a few seconds later. No real damage, I think. Suddenly I pick up a sound; my brain automatically supplies an answer to the sound. Sentinels.

Sentinels? Here? Actually, it kind of figures. Turning to face the hallway that the noises are coming from, I ready my shotgun. I only have a few shots left, after that I'll have to improvise.

When I see the sentinels I almost have to do a double take. They look like they came from a do-it-yourself kit. They float like the sentinels on the Halos (although they lack a certain grace) but they have assault rifle rounds instead of lasers.

They take my surprise and lack of response to their advantage by releasing a stream of rifle rounds. I drop to the ground and roll away but one of the bullets clips my shoulder.

I'm on my feet and aiming my shotgun in an instant. I fire at the nearest one and it goes up in flames. Good, they don't have shields. The one on my left fires at me but luckily the things act as if they are drunk, swinging to and fro. It's lucky they can hit anything at all.

I side step more rounds and bring my shotgun up again. Unfortunately the sentinel suddenly rolls to its side and hit's a wall just as I shoot. A complete miss. I duck behind some boxes that were stacked in the hall and reload my shotgun. I don't have much left in it, definitely not enough to deal with the five sentinels coming towards me.

Coming out from my make shift cover I shoot at one of the sentinels and only clip the underside of it. I dodge yet another attempt to riddle my torso with bullets by throwing one of the crates at the sentinel ready to fire. The impact unbalances it enough to occupy it for a few moments. They really are ungainly.

I duck my head quickly as one fires at where my head was moments ago. I wish I had a plasma grenade. It would be incredibly useful at the moment. Wait! A small smile moves across my lips as I remember. I don't have a plasma grenade but I have an acceptable replacement.

I duck into an empty examination room and quickly search all my suit's compartments. I curl my fingers around the familiar shape of the spike grenade, I can hear the sentinels coming to close in on me as a plan slowly formulates in my mind.

Getting ready, I wait for the sentinels to come. I hope this works, I really do. The sentinels sound like their right outside the door. Time to implement my plan and hope.

Bracing myself I check that my shotgun is secured to my back holster and plunge out the swinging door, surprising the sentinels. I throw the spike grenade and it lands perfectly on the center one. They're grouped just close enough that they'll all bear the effect of the grenade's detonation.

I don't stop to look though as I keep running down the hall, even after I hear the spike grenade go off and the sound of metal scraping and grinding together. I head through the swinging doors that Steinman had run through. Some of the sentinels might have survived the explosion; I'm not taking any chances. I find another stack of crates and a crowbar lying next to them.

Snatching the crowbar from the ground, I stick it between the door handles. I have no guarantee that the sentinels can't make it through those doors but it buys me time to get away from here. I only have two shots left in the shotgun. Definitely not enough to go into battle with.

Taking a deep breath I go towards the door at the end of the hall. I'm really getting tired of these hallways. As if the city had been reading my mind, beyond the door was a sort of lobby. There are lots of hallways I notice. I take a step towards a desk that sits in the middle of the room when Harrison's voice comes back on.

"Hold it there cowboy; Steinman has two turrets set up in this room. If you had the tools and instruction you could hack them, unfortunately I wouldn't be able to tell you how to do that. I'm a doctor, not an engineer. A friend of mine is the one who set up my network in the Surgery Wing." There was a pause and I hear him sigh over the speaker. "And unfortunately she was on that gurney."

Oh.

I look at my shotgun. Two shots. That hardly cuts it. Well, I do still have my plasmids. I concentrate on equipping my Winterblast. I wince as ice shards come out of my hand, I bet that it'd hurt more if the cold didn't numb my hand. Now to lay a trap.

First things first. Locate both turrets.

I get down low and move towards the wall. Okay, this is going to be reckless but it's the only way. My back is to the wall and I have the receptionist desk in my sights. Straight line, don't deviate.

I launch myself from the crouch position and head towards the desk. I hear what is, obviously, an automated humming sound, and then there are bullets. I jump behind the desk and stay low. Okay, that's one. Just a few feet from the front of the desk. Now where is the other one?

I sigh, only one way to do this. I raise my head just barely above the top of the desk. I hear the humming again so I quickly get back down. I only scanned a part of the room, couldn't see anything. Steinman obviously has it hidden.

I wish my hand wasn't so cold.

I peek out from the desk again and scan the other side of the room. There's humming again. Wait! Is that it? In the broken part of the wall.

I pull my head out of harms way just in time. If I had remained there I would have several bullets in my head and a ruined helmet.

I've located both. Now for a plan. I'll have to modify the original one but I'm sure it'll work. It's just extremely stupid and I would have been demoted if a superior officer saw me even attempting it.

Taking a deep breath and getting my Winterblast ready, I stand and jump over the desk into harms way. I run to get into the cross fire of both turrets. Spinning to face one as they both get ready to fire, I freeze it over, that'll only hold for a moment.

Dropping to the ground, the other turret opens fire and hit's the frozen one directly across from it. The explosion tells me that my plan is half way completed.

I jump up and run to the other turret as it tries to lock onto me again. Quickly I grasp it and yank as hard as I can to rip it out of the ground. Apparently it's stronger then the UNSC or Covenant ones because it pops my shoulder joints.

I throw the thing to the ground. It sputters and smoke comes out of it. That's taken care of. Now I just have to worry about the damage to my shoulders.

Looking around, I realize that a map would be really useful right now. I hear an odd crackling coming from the overhead speaker system. At first I think that Harrison is going to tell me where to go but a woman's voice comes over the speakers.

"I only have a limited time before Steinman retakes control of the speakers again so I'll be quick. One of my little ones is in trouble not far from you, if you help her I'll make it worth your while. There's a door to your left, it'll lead to a glass hallway. If you follow it, you'll be taken to the little one. Please hurry." Tenenbaum's voice is filled with concern.

Duty calls. I turn left and find the door she was talking about rather easily. Cortana once told me that I have an annoying hero complex that takes over in the absence of orders.

Harrison hasn't said anything; he must not care as long as I eventually take on Steinman. I look out the glass of the hallway to see a school of odd looking fish swim by. The city looks beautiful from out here.

I shake my head and pick up the pace. No time for that now. I come to a door without the hallway collapsing on me (thankfully) when I suddenly realize that the doors are engraved with an elegant looking R. I can't believe I just noticed this.

Coming through the door the first thing that hits me is the group of Splicers converging on one point. Their backs are to me. The next thing is the Big Daddy corpse. He looks absolutely fried.

"It's just us and all the ADAM we can drink." The one who spoke is carrying a wrench and is swinging it around wildly. The others, who look just as gruesome as the leader, laugh. There's a whimper that obviously belongs to a child. Possibly a boy.

I take my shotgun off my back holster and decide to make my presence known before they hurt the kid. Taking aim, I shoot the leader in the back. It impacts just below the neck.

The Splicers spin around and shout angrily at me. The little boy looks at me with his glowing eyes, I notice he's wheezing and coughing. I didn't think they could get sick with the slug implanted in them. Luckily the Splicers have their attention focused on me and have momentarily forgotten about the boy.

I put my shotgun away and activate the Arbiter's sword. They hesitate at the sight of the sword but eventually charge at me. Thugs.

I sidestep one and slash at another one. They are rather fast. I duck a shot and shoot one with my Electro Bolt, effectively stunning it. Next, I elbow another one in the nose and punch his backup. Blood covers my fist.

Suddenly, I'm nearly knocked to the floor as one jumps on my back. I hear it laughing. I do the first thing that comes to mind; I drop on my back and crush the bastard. Still on my back I kick another one, breaking his ribs.

Rolling to my feet I pick up my fallen sword quickly and slash the nearest thug. Blood falls from the Splicers abdomen and it drops. He'll be dead from blood loss soon.

I'm suddenly whacked on the shoulder by a wrench. Spinning around I grab the improvised weapon and stab the Splicer before he could react. Quickly, I yank the sword from its limp body and spin around in time to see one charging at me. It's a simple matter of impaling him.

Two left standing. My buddy with the broken ribs and the guy I stunned earlier.

The thug with the broken ribs tries to make a run for it (smart man).

"Coward!'

"The Little Brother isn't worth toeing with the Big Daddy AND this freakish Jolly Green Giant."

The one I stunned looks at me and I tilt my head to the side as if daring him to attack. He only has to glance at his fallen comrades to make up his mind. The man spins around and runs after his partner.

I put the sword away and look at the bodies littering the floor. Looking up again, I search for a sign of the Little Brother. That's when I hear a smothered cough and quiet wheezing.

Walking towards the sound I find the boy hiding behind some junk in a corner. He looks at me with wide glowing eyes. His suit is in tatters and his hair is a mess. Same greenish skin as the Little Sister I saved earlier. He's obviously scared.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Dr. Tenenbaum asked me to help you." The boy looked doubtful but didn't move away as I grabbed him.

Touching his forehead I urge my hand to glow like it did last time. When nothing happens and the boy starts fidgeting and trying to get free I concentrate on my want to save him. That works. My hand glows and the glowing moves to his forehead and down his body.

The bright light blinds me for a moment and when it fades I see that the boy's eyes are a natural brown and his skin is a healthy color. I collect the ADAM quickly as the boy coughs it up.

"Thank you sir!" I nod and let go of his arm. He looks at my armor, fascinated for a moment.

"You're like Mr. Bubbles, but your not. What's your name? Mine's Sam." Sam. My friend during the Spartan Training. I suddenly get a flashback to Sam's face when we first met, then the sight of him just before he died.

"John." It just slips out without me wanting it to. The boy smiles though.

"I'll tell Mama Tenenbaum you helped me Mr. John." Well, at least its better then Mr. Bubbles. I look around the room and notice that there's no porthole.

"You better come with me, I'll get you to one of the tunnels."

"I told you, you were like Mr. Bubbles." I cringe, not that he can see it. I look at my near empty shotgun; it's useless so I drop it to the ground. Then I grab Sam and put him on my back. He obediently holds on.

I head towards the door I had come out of when the lights turn red and the alarm goes off. Not again! Damn Steinman.

"Uh oh, you made Mr. Ryan mad." I turn and see the open hallway that the Splicers had run out of. There's my exit.

"Hold on tightly." He nods and tightens his grip. Suddenly the sound of glass being smashed snatches my attention to the ceiling just as Splicers jump through. I automatically reach for my sword but I hear Sam whimper as he ducks his head so as not to watch. No, better make a run for it.

Launching myself across the room we just barely miss being hit with rounds from an assault rifle. I run at my top speed and practically tackle one of the Splicers that were stupid enough to get in my way. Just keep going.

I'm in the hallway but I don't slow down, I need to get Sam to a porthole. Then I can get into some fights. I see what is, unmistakably, a bulkhead door. That'll hold the Splicers out.

They are following me, right on my tail. I think one of them is angry because he discovered my shotgun was practically empty.

I run past the metal door and am about to turn to close it when it does so on it's own. That's when I notice the large screen. Trap. Damn it! The screen looks like something you'd see in a UNSC operations room. A picture of a late middle aged man appears on it with Ryan Industries written transparently in front of him.

"So tell me friend, which one of the parasites sent you, the UNSC wolves or the Rebellion jackals? Well, you can tell them that Andrew Ryan isn't the giddy socialite who can be pushed around by hired muscle with broken equipment. You've already interrupted the process of the Great Chain long enough, so with that, I bid you fair well."

The picture flickers to the Ryan Industries logo. My instincts are screaming at me to get out of here. It doesn't help that Sam is shaking. I turn towards my only exit and try to open it but its fastened shut. The shouts of Splicers can be heard outside the door I came in from and beyond the screen. Harrison, Tenenbaum, someone, this would be a good time to help me.

"Stay calm I've almost got this door hacked. It'll take the Splicers about five minutes to break in." I don't recognize the voice but the accent is obviously Irish.

"Okay I got it, better move while you can." The door swings open and I hurry through. Sam breathes an audible sigh of relief.

"Harrison asked me to help out when Ryan set off the alarm. Old man can't hack a coffee maker even if he had step by step instructions. I'm Atlas, when you've killed Steinman, Harrison will get your communicator fixed. When that happens we'll see about getting you out of here." The speakers cut off.

"Are you okay Sam?" The boy nods. Good.

"Do you know where one of your Tunnels is?"

"Uh huh, follow this hallway and turn right first chance you get." Simple, too simple.

Nonetheless I continue walking. I'm obviously still in the Medical Pavilion; signs of Steinman's presence are everywhere. From the blood written messages to the mutilated corpses. What disturbs me the most is that it doesn't seem to bother Sam all that much. It's like he's used to this.

I turn right and see a door at the end of the hallway. I suppose Sam wants me to go in there. As I'm walking I can't help but glimpse at some of the bloody messages.

"Steinman's a monster!"

"Aphrodite is gone!"

The messages get crazier and crazier as you keep reading them. A few look like they were done by Steinman himself. I jerk back to reality when the door slides open to admit me into the room beyond.

The first thing I notice is the Big Daddy and the Little Sister with it, the next thing I notice is the Little Sibling tunnel. I walk over to the Tunnel and help Sam into it.

"You better get out of here, things are about to get really messy." The boy nods and waves goodbye to me as he crawls out of sight. Turning away from the tunnel, I get a good look at Mr. Bubbles. This one is different from the other ones I've seen. It's taller for one, not as stocky but it wields a very large and nasty looking gun. The thing looks out of only one hole in the diving helmet, rather then the multiple smaller ones.

I think the gun he carries launches grenades, it somewhat resemble an old UNSC grenade launcher but definitely modified. I sigh and look around the room for something, anything really. That is when I see an SMG lying next to a corpse of a woman wearing a butterfly mask. That'll work.

Checking the clip, I find it's almost fully loaded. I push a table over, knocking everything off of it in the process and take cover behind. Mr. Bubbles is about to leave the room when I open fire onto his back near some of the equipment it carries.

"Unzip him, Mr. B. Unzip him!" The Little Sister screams as the thing spins around and launches what looks more like a proximity mine then a grenade. Eyes widening, I jump out of the way as the table explodes.

Thinking quickly, I hit Mr. Bubbles with the Winter Blast and watch him freeze over. Taking my chance, I unload a whole clip into him. He roars angrily when he breaks free from the ice and immediately fires at me again.

I duck behind a pillar and quickly reload the SMG. I can hear its heavy metal footsteps running closer as the horrible smell drifts nearer as well. Pushing myself away from the column, I hit it with the Electro Bolt as it is about to open fire again.

I fire again but the electricity wears off halfway through the clip. Mr. Bubbles roars again and fires another proximity mine. This thing is tougher than the Hunters; at least the Hunters had weak spots. I jump out of the way just in time but the explosion scorches a part of my armor. Hissing in pain, I fire the rest of the clip in the thing, one of my bullets accidentally hits what looks like an oil barrel. The barrel explodes and lights the Big Daddy on fire.

While it's busy, I reload and begin shooting him again. The combination of the fire and my constant barrage of bullets finally take its toll on Mr. Bubbles and he collapses. I sigh in relief as I watch the Little Sister run up to it.

"What's wrong with you Mr. B! Get up!" She sobs into her hands as she kneels down close to him, close to the fire. Running forward quickly, I pull her away before she could burn herself.

"No! No, no, no!" She struggles in my grasp as I pull her closer and rest my hand on her forehead as she glows. Again, I'm blinded as the light flashes, and once again I collect the ADAM the little girl vomits.

When she feels better, she looks at me and smiles as she curtsies. Her red hair falling into her face. She quickly pushes it behind her ears as she seems to be thinking about something.

"Thank you Mister." I nod at the little girl but she is too deep in thought to notice.

"Hey Mister, Can I tell you a secret. You can't tell anyone though, I wouldn't normally tell anyone because I was asked to keep it a secret but you saved me so…do you want to know it?" Despite myself, I can't help but be mildly curious.

"Sure, I won't tell anyone." The girl nods and smiles as she gestures for me to come down to her level. When she talks next, she's whispering but I pick it up easily with my advanced hearing.

"One day, I think it was last year, Mr. Ryan was taking a walk near the orphanage and I was playing with my dolly and I said hi to him. Normally, Mr. Ryan ignores us when he goes to Point Prometheus but this time he was really nice to me and he asked me to hide something for him. Mr. Ryan said it was REEEEAAAALLLLY important. The thing he wanted me to hide was like a square and it kind of reminded me of the voice box in my teddy bear but thinner and with a screen on it. So I hid it in my teddy and threw its voice box out. I think the teddy is still in my room in the orphanage."

I watched as the Little Sister climbed into the Tunnel Sam had recently disappeared from. Idly, I toy with my new SMG as I think back to what the girl told me. Ryan asking a kid to hide something important for him? That was certainly suspicious, not to mention it raised a lot of questions. Like what was Ryan trying to hide? Who was he trying to hide it from? And if it was as important as Ryan told the girl, then why entrust it to a child? Couldn't he have just made a vault or something similar? Hmmm, the plot thickens.

My head snaps up as the overhead speakers crackle to life. Steinman, Harrison, Tenenbaum, or Atlas? I'm about to find out.

"You've saved three of my Little Ones. But are you really a friend to us. Nonetheless, you'll find a Gatherer's Garden machine near Steinman's current headquarters; I'll send a Little One with a gift for you."

That's rather nice of her; I didn't expect to receive any gifts. I push myself up and head through the door that is located directly opposite from the one I had come out of. Now back to finding Steinman.

Thirty Minutes Later___________________________________________________________________

I would love to know why all the halls in this place look the same. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure at one point this place was quite beautiful but did they really need to make it a maze? I've been lost and turned around a grand total of five times in the last thirty minutes. Not only that, but the more Splicers I run into, the more I wish I was still fighting the Covenant. At least it was aliens I was killing, not human beings. Though to be fair these Splicers are hardly human, they barely look human half the time but that doesn't change the fact that they are still humanoids. People. This is like going to a mental hospital and shooting the place up.

Fortunately for me I finally find the waiting room that has Steinman's headquarters beyond it. It's complete with a Gatherers Garden machine as well. I can't help but feel how morbid it is that I'm buying a hypodermic needle full of Plasmids out of a vending machine. It's like buying drugs out of a vending machine.

When I walk towards the machine, a movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention; I spin around and raise my SMG only to have to lower it again. It's the first Little Sister I saved; she's carrying a teddy bear with her.

Curiously, I watch as she sets it down in front of the machine and leaves quickly without so much as glancing at me. Frowning, I make my way over to the Gatherer's Garden and pick up the bear. Ah, that's it. The bear has things hidden inside it.

I peal open the Velcro on its back to find a standard issue UNSC pistol, complete with scope and extra ammo for it. There's also a vial filled with ADAM and a small toolbox that could easily fit into someone's pocket. I don't recognize any of the equipment in it. Frowning again, I pocket the toolbox and holster the pistol opposite the leg my sword is rested on.

I take the vial of ADAM and the ADAM I've collected and access the machine's options menu. A list of different plasmids and Tonics appear along with a side note about Tonics.

**_IMPORTANT NOTE: You may purchase Tonics here but you must find a Tonic Station to introduce them into your system._**

I glance up at a sign by a hallway entrance that reads: Tonic Station. The speakers crackle to life and Harrison's familiar voice fills the room.

"If I were you, I'd purchase Telekinesis and a couple of Engineering Tonics. There should be a tonic that gives you the knowledge of how to hack computers somewhere. You get that and a Hacker's Toolkit, you'll be set. The rest is up to you."

I nod vaguely and scan through the different Plasmids for sale. I spot the Telekinesis and quickly buy it. A slot at the bottom of the machine opens and a hypo needle drops out. This really is morbid. Despite that, I choose the Engineering Tonic Harrison told me about and decide to save the rest of my ADAM for later; you never know when I might need it.

I pick up the needle with the Telekinesis and inject it. I feel an incredibly sharp pain in my head and an odd feeling of my brain being dunked in water comes over me. Stumbling, I slump against the wall and try to stay calm as I ride out the affects of the Plasmid. When the underwater feeling leaves my brain and my vision finally clears, I shakily get to my feet and pick up the vial filled with the Engineering Tonic.

I have to take several deep breathes before I feel alright to start walking again. My first destination is the Tonic Station, so my feet automatically take me there. Luckily it's the first door on my left in the hallway. Unluckily two Splicers are waiting for me. On instinct, I grab my pistol and fire two shots into the first one's head.

The other one jumps out of the way as I fire at him and tries to throw a grenade at me. Again my instincts kick in and a lift my hand and, surprisingly, catch the grenade in midair and throw it back at the equally surprised Splicer.

The explosion doesn't seem to have harmed the computer, although now it has blood and scorch marks on it. I just sigh and insert the Tonic that I had bought into the computer and hop into the chamber. I pass out into much needed sleep as the gel envelops me.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Gel layer is receding when I wake up feeling refreshed but stiff and my head has a slight pounding in it. I rub my aching head and squint my eyes in the flickering overhead lights. I find myself examining the computer and actually understanding what I'm looking at. My mind also supplies information on how to hack the machine for discounts on the Tonics it holds.

I frown and turn away as I realize the tool kit Tenenbaum gave me is actually a Hacker's Toolkit. Thinking back to the turrets and Sentinels, I know the kit and my knew found knowledge of hacking will come in handy.

I jerk when I feel an odd shifting in my mind. What was that? It wasn't painful but it was rather uncomfortable, like sand being kicked on you. Odd. Maybe it was just one of the after affects to the Tonic being introduced into my system.

Heading back to Steinman's lobby, I check that all my weapons are fully loaded and secure. I have a feeling it isn't going to be easy killing the psycho. Looking around the lobby I really shouldn't be surprised that there are no Splicers here. Steinman's presence is very strong.

Steeling myself, I go to the vault like door that I know has Steinman's work room on the other side. The bronze door slides upward allowing me to cross its threshold.

The first thing I notice about the room is that it's lit by candle light, the next is the strong scent of blood and the corpses hanging on the walls. Next I realize Steinman isn't in the room. Where is he? I take a few steps into the room and do a more detailed scan. The walls (except for the blood) are sterile white, absolutely no dirt on them. That's an amazing feat on its own.

I'm just about to walk further into the room when I'm hit by an incredibly sharp pain in my back between my shoulder blades. My body jerks and convulses before my vision goes black.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_I'm in a graveyard, standing next to a man wearing black. I know the man is my father. There's another man, a stranger, also wearing black. Someone has died, someone close to me. I'm gripping my father's hand and tears are streaming down my face. All the while, my father and the other man are talking. The stranger talks first._

_"I'm so sorry. By the time I got there, they were already starting to execute the hostages. It was a mess."_

_"I'm sure you did the best you could. I'm just glad the kids were at school and hadn't been with her." A short pause. "Did any of the Rebels live?"_

_"None that can talk."_

_My eyes travel to the sight of a little girl with sandy blond hair; she's about three and standing near a fresh grave._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I groan as my eyes flicker open. The first thing I realize is that I'm lying on my back and I can't move. The first thing I see, however, is Steinman examining my face. My helmet is off.

"Dark brown hair, dark green eyes, overly pale skin, freckles here and there, scar just below left eye, other then that you'd make a perfect subject for my Aphrodite. Hmmm, though we will have to shave down those high cheek bones of yours." I can't help but allow my eyes to travel to the corpses on the walls.

"Ah, I've noticed you've seen my other works. Yes, obviously not quite as impressive as I would have hoped but I'm hoping to do much better with you. You're a breath of fresh air, probably the freshest piece of meat to ever lie on my slab." This has to be the creepiest moment of my life. I begin to struggle in the straps as Steinman moves over to a table that has different knives and surgical tools on it.

"I prefer doing my work by candle light, it makes things more…intimate." Before he can say anything more I manage to rip the straps off of me and jump to my feet. Steinman jerks his head up and immediately grabs some scalpels and throws them at me.

I dodge to my right, narrowly avoiding the sharp implements. Steinman ducks behind a desk and disappears from my sight. My eyes quickly scan the room for a weapon (Steinman has taken mine), there are only knives. Just as I lunge for, what looks suspiciously like a meat cleaver, Steinman stands up from behind the desk wielding an Assault Rifle.

I shove a gurney over and huddle behind it as he lets off an entire clip. I concentrate on equipping my Telekinesis and levitate the meat clever before propelling it at him. The sound of Steinman screaming fills the room. Definitely a hit.

"What can I do with this one, Aphrodite? He. Won't. Stay. Still!" He punctuates each of the words in his last sentence with shooting bolts of electricity in my general direction. So that was how he stunned me.

I levitate a box of medical supplies and throw it at him in hopes of distracting the psychopath. The subsequent thud and a yell let's me know it impacted him. Ducking out from behind the gurney, I run and get behind a wall as Steinman gets focus again.

"There is a price for being beautiful but don't spoil it by clinging to life!" My eyes are already searching for another weapon as I hear Steinman moving from his position behind the desk. Concentrating, I switch my Plasmid and wait for him to come closer. I think I know where I can find a weapon but he needs to be out of the picture for a few second to get there.

His footsteps are close, just a little further. Come on. Now! I jump from behind my cover and hit him with the Electro Bolt. He jerks and convulses but I don't waist time by standing around. My feet carry me behind the desk Steinman had grabbed his Assault Rifle from.

My guess paid off. The desk holds a cache of weapons, like my energy sword and the pistol Tenenbaum gave me. But my hand goes immediately for my SMG and Steinman was kind enough to stock extra rounds for it.

Meanwhile, the plastic surgeon, had shook himself out of being electrocuted and was now stocking towards me yelling things about me being difficult and Aphrodite being angry. Gripping the SMG close, I stand up and begin firing rounds into the surprised surgeon.

He screams and shoots an Electro Bolt at me but I manage to duck behind the desk seconds before it would have hit me. I can't afford to get hit, especially sense my helmet is no where to be found.

I suddenly hear a grenade pin being pulled. Uh, oh. Jumping out of the way, I manage to shoot off half a clip near Steinman. Only a few bullets actually hit him though. Any other man would be dead by now. Obviously there is a Tonic to make someone nearly bullets proof.

I have to roll out of the way as he begins to fire at me once again. After managing to crawl behind cover and get to my feet, I reload my SMG. My cheek is bleeding from a small piece of shrapnel that is still lodged in my face.

Using Telekinesis, I levitate a piece of the destroyed desk and throw it at Steinman. Taking my chance, I begin to let off a clip into the monster and when he had recovered enough to shoot back; I hit him with Winter Blast. While the psycho is frozen, I continue to shoot him until he shatters. Finally, he's dead.

I groan as I drop to the floor. My body is exhausted and sore. Leaning my back against a wall, I look around the room. Quite a few candles had fallen over and snuffed out onto the ground and the walls aren't so sterile anymore, now decorated with scorch marks and bullet holes.

Closing my eyes I take a deep breath and try to think. First order of business now, is to find my helmet. Next, is to return to Harrison's office and get him to fix my communicator. Then contact Atlas and figure out what he wants in exchange for getting me out of this hellhole.

Taking another deep breath I open my eyes and get to my feet. If I were Steinman (thankfully, I'm not) where would I put a broken helmet. The trash probably, though the entire city is a trash heap. No, it has to be somewhere else.

My eyes catch sight of a closed locker door. That looks promising, but when I try to open the door I find it locked. Well, of course it's locked, that's why they call it a locker. Grunting in frustration, I head back to the destroyed desk and dig through the wreckage. Good, my pistol and sword survived. After holstering those and a few grenades lying in the splintered wood, I continue to look for a key. Too bad there's none to be found.

Alright, looks like I have to do this the hard way. Going back to the locker door, I grasp the handle and yank with all my strength. It tears open like tin. That was easier then I thought.

Inside the locker is not only my helmet but also a security card issued by Ryan Industries for the entire Medical Pavilion. Harrison might find this useful.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"I've got good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"The good news is the wound from the shrapnel is already healed completely."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that unfortunately it's healed around the piece of shrapnel still lodged in your cheek. I can take it out; it's just going to be extremely painful. Especially sense I don't have any morphine or standard issue medical supplies. They were all stolen by looters." Harrison pauses as he turns to a table behind him. When he turns around he's holding a pair of tweezers.

"So, we'll have to do this the old fashioned way. Hold still and it shouldn't hurt too much… I think." Somehow his words don't comfort me. Turns out I was right not to be comforted by his words because he simply gets hold of the metal piece and yanks it out of my skin. I've felt worse but that doesn't stop me from yelling out.

"Oh, quiet you big baby." Harrison says as he applies a bandage to my cheek. He then turns away from me and examines the piece of shrapnel he had set on the table.

"That's interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"Your blood is turning purple, and it has an odd trace of green and yellow in it. Weirdest thing I've ever seen." I just groan and put my head in my hands, my life just keeps getting better and better. When I lift my face I notice Harrison looking at me with penetrating gray eyes.

"What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't tell you my name." He rolls his eyes.

"Well, what is your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because, I could have sworn I've seen you before."

"That's not possible."

"No, it's not probable. Nothing is impossible." He pauses and looks out a window at the sea outside. "You better fix your communicator; the parts are in my desk. I'll get them for you."

**-END OF CHAPTER THREE-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note:

Hi,

First, I would like to thank DarkWolf54 for his kind review. I appreciate it very much and this chapter is now dedicated to him.

Moving on, I would like to say that the weird dream that John had when he was knocked out by Steinman was obviously a Flashback to the time before his Spartan Training.

Last, if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them if they don't give away the plot too much. Thank you for reading.

-KTHM


	5. Rapture Metropolitan Police Plaza

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Four: Rapture Metropolitan Police Plaza

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Finally! I was beginning to think you'd never fix your communicator." Atlas's Irish accent fills my helmet's speakers. "Okay, I know you want out of here and I CAN help you with that. But I want something too." Of course. "My wife and child are hiding in the Ship Bay of Fontaine's Fisheries which is located in Neptune's Bounty. Help me get them out and we'll leave this godforsaken city together."

"May I ask a question?"

"I don't see why not."

"Why does a fish market have a ship bay?"

"Well, the Fisheries are actually just a front for a smuggling operation. They managed to steal a converted Pelican and keep it off of Ryan's scanners. They would use contacts from nearby planets and have goods banned from Rapture dropped off. Then their ship would pick it up. Though for some reason the shipments have stopped coming." Gee, I wonder why. I consider mentioning the Covenant but throw the thought out almost immediately. It wouldn't do me any good.

"I'll go to Neptune's Bounty."

"Hold it, it's not that simple." It's never that simple. "Peach Wilkins has taken up residence and practically owns Fontaine's Fisheries. The man's the most paranoid person in the galaxy, as a matter of fact; I've spent the better part of two hours trying to negotiate with him so you can get in. He's refused so you'll have to force your way in there.

"To do that though, you'll have to get Police Chief Sullivan's security key. It'll give you access to just about every part of Rapture except for Hephaestus. The key should be in Sullivan's office, all you have to do is go through the Legal Offices and make your way to Police Plaza."

"Consider it done." The connection is cut and I turn back to look at Harrison. The man has been packing up his office for the past few hours. Apparently the other reason he wanted Steinman dead was because he had been keeping Harrison from leaving. The old man said he had some friends he wanted to meet up with.

"Can I give you some advice?" Harrison says as he cleans his glasses.

"If you'd like."

"The next time you get a piece of shrapnel embedded into your skin, take it out before you heal around it." Sound advice but I choose not reply as I resist the urge to rub my still aching cheek. The skin had long since healed but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"I'm heading to Oceanus's Dock; I need to get to Sullivan's office in Police Plaza." Harrison looks up as he replaces his glasses on his face.

"In that case, I should probably tell you that, though Sullivan is dead, someone has locked themselves in his office. Be careful and good luck. Though I have a feeling you have a lot of that." He doesn't need to tell me to be careful.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I'm reloading all of my weapons and securing them to my suit. The Bathysphere is almost there and I want to be ready for anything. Though, I did have a stroke of good fortunate as I was sitting in Harrison's office waiting for Atlas to contact me. I found out that my Electro Bolt can recharge the Energy Sword.

The Bathysphere jerks to a stop and I wait for the door to open. I come into a lobby with a receptionist desk in the very center of the room. Lights are sparking and flickering on and off, while water leaks through a crack in the window. Behind the desk is a door that leads deeper into the building.

Approaching the desk, I find a stack of legal papers, spatters of blood, and what looks like an audio chip.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_"Head Contractor, William "Bill" McDonagh,_

_"The rebels set a bomb off in the Legal Offices. Just my luck. At least I only have Sullivan and a couple of lawyers to deal with; Sullivan has Ryan on his back to catch those rebels. I don't envy him._

_"But the entire building is a mess, it'll take months to clean up and fix all the damage. That's not all; Sullivan wants it fixed in ONE month! The man's nuts, I'd love to see him try to clean out all that rubble in one month._

_"First the irrigation system in Arcadia leaks, flooding in Port Neptune, and now this. We lead a charmed life."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The audio recording ends on that lovely note. I take the chip out of my helmet and drop it on the desk; I won't need that any more. So, a bomb was set off in the building, I bet it hasn't been fixed all the way either.

I see a screen on the wall just beside the door and walk over to it. I punch a button to try and turn it on but it doesn't work. Not enough juice. Thinking back to how the Sword worked after I charged it, I place my hand flat on the screen and charge a Bolt into it. It sparks then flickers to life.

Nodding, I summon a map onto the screen and discover a live feed. It shows which doors and hallways are blocked and where floors have fallen away. McDonagh is right; this building is a complete mess. However, if I'm reading this right… the maintenance tunnels are fine. It's a round about way but it's the only clear one and they should take me all the way to Police Plaza. Unfortunately it looks as if the Maintenance Tunnels were purposely hidden and only an engineer can find them or open them up. Looks like I'm in need of an engineer.

I turn on my radio and broadcast a signal. It would read as an UNSC signal but it's still a signal and someone is bound to answer it. Hopefully. After a few moments a voice comes over my speakers.

"Hello, is this thing on then?" The accent is unmistakably Irish.

"Identify yourself."

"Victor McDonagh and you?"

"Master Chief, Spartan 117." My voice supplies automatically.

"Wow, your parents didn't mess around when naming you did they? Either that or your UNSC, how the hell did you get here?"

"Long story."

"I bet, but I'll cut this shot. What are you doing here?"

"I need to get to the Police Plaza."

"Find it blocked did you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I was sent here to help clean up the rubble before those goddamned things showed up."

"I take it your trapped."

"Not as trapped as you are."

"You have a way through?"

"Maintenance Access Tunnels, mate."

"I saw that on the map."

"Not all the tunnels are on the map. Where are my manners? Come in." I turn as I hear the sound of a door opening. The door itself is thinner and shorter then regular doors and it's completely hidden, I didn't even notice it when I entered the room.

The man is about 5' 11" with wavy auburn hair with blue-gray eyes and a slightly muscular build. His blue overalls are dirty and ripped in some places. Behind him is a tall woman, maybe an inch shorter then Victor with red hair and wide brown eyes. Her suit, though once well tailored, is now tattered and dirty.

"This is Alison Gillace, the City's Prosecution Lawyer. Though that doesn't count for much anymore, does it Councilor?" She just glares.

"What are you two doing down here."

"Hiding." Alison replies simply. She has a strong British accent.

"Now, now, Alice don't be that way. He might be our way out of here."

"That would be lovely, but with the Splicers, security cameras, turrets, sentinels, and Chief nut-job Sullivan watching everything that goes on, I don't see how that's possible. It's been months since we've been trapped here." Alison says as she glances around the lobby.

"If you help me, I will contact Dr. Harrison and ask him to take you to wherever he's running off to. Said something about meeting up with some friends but he should still be in the Medical Pavilion."

"What about Medical's security, not to mention Steinman?" Alison asks as she glances at the Bathysphere I came up in.

"Well, the Splicers won't be a problem. Most of the turrets are destroyed, the sentinels are no where to be found anymore, and I've got the security cameras disabled. Oh, and Steinman…well, let's just say Steinman got a taste of his own medicine."

"Good god man. I don't know what will come of this. Only the devil himself knows" Victor reaches into one of his pockets and hands me a data pad with a maintenance readout.

"This will disable some of the lower access way locks. And as for the Police Plaza-" I cut him off

"What kind of security is in the Plaza?"

"The works. Energy fields, RPG turrets, few of those Big Daddies lumbering around, a hundred floating sentry cameras, did I mention the mine fields out there?"

"Mine fields?"

"Yes, little round disks, they put them into the ground, explosion."

"I know what they are, trust me, I've seen quite a few of them explode first hand. Why so many security measures?"

"I did say Sullivan is nuts didn't I? I can't remember a time when that man had both oars in the water."

"I thought Sullivan was dead."

"No, he just locked himself into his office after his wife killed herself. I should know. I came by one day to his office to question one of his prisoners, there was to be a trial in a week. The next thing I know, I'm dodging shotgun shells. It took four of his own men to subdue him. The man suffered a mental breakdown and before anyone could remove him from his post or change the Genetic Key, Sullivan locked himself in his office and turned on every security measure known to man. Luckily for me, Victor here was working in the Maintenance Tunnels and managed to get me out." Alison says as she shakes her head.

"Better hurry, Harrison might still be there but he won't be for long. Though I should probably warn you, the man's slightly off of his rocker. But in a well meaning kind of way, not in the 'I want to murder everyone' kind of way." They both looked slightly worried but took off for the Bathysphere.

I duck down into the Maintenance Tunnel. The door might be small but the inside is much larger and I can stand comfortably in it. The Tunnel's lights have a red hue and pipes run on the floor, ceiling, and walls. I look down at the readout Victor gave me and plan out my route as the door shuts behind me.

As I'm walking, I think back to everything that has happened since I arrived here. I've only just realized that several unexplainable things have happened that I just shrugged off. Like the dream I had when Steinman stunned me, what was that about? I can barely recall what happened, just a graveyard and two men talking; I can't even remember what they said.

I try to concentrate on the memory but a sharp pain runs through my head and makes me break off of that train of thought. Odd, it's almost as if something is blocking the memory. That's worrying-

"Would you kindly focus, your almost there." I shake myself out of my thoughts and notice that Atlas is right. I open the door and take a peek out. I'm in what appears to be a….janitor's closet? Sighing I open the door and look out into the hall.

The hallway is clear but papers and computer pieces are scattered everywhere. I cautiously step out of the closet and move quietly down the hall. I haven't forgotten what Victor said about the security network. At the end of the hallway, I nudge open a swinging door to look into the room beyond.

I can't tell what the original purpose of the room was but there is a large hole in the floor. The room below it was a cafeteria at one point but now has blood, papers, and corpses littering it. I can see a few machines that look like a smaller sentinel except they have no weapons just an eye piece. They must be the cameras Victor had told me about. Next to one of the corpses, a Splicer is looking through debris while what looks like automated RPG turrets scan the room. Charming.

I'm about to move towards the door when I pause in mid-step. I blink as I look at the message on my helmet visor. An elite distress beacon? Here? How did an Elite get here? There's only one way to find out. I program my helmet to give me a NAV point on his position. Now I just have to follow.

Pushing open the swinging door opposite the one I just came out of, I walk down yet another hall. This one has doors bearing different people's names. Obviously offices of the cities detectives, though every door I try is locked and I'm not in the mood to start prying them open. I'm about to give up on finding an open door when one pushes open at my touch. The door bears the name: Emile Sosa.

The inside of his office is torn apart with computer parts scattered across the floor and papers shreds thrown around the room like confetti. I dig through the garbage for a few moments when I find another audio chip.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_"Undercover Investigator, Emile R. Sosa._

_"First day on this assignment and I get interrogated by Peach Wilkins, the man doesn't trust me. Then again, according to everyone else, Peach doesn't trust anybody. They tell me not to worry, while boss man Sullivan tells me to watch my back around him._

_"Man, after spending all day today gutting fish, I think I'm never eating sushi again. Ugh, it'll take forever getting the smell out of my clothes. And I'll have to wear a ton of cologne to cover up the smell on my skin. Alice is going to be pissed that I have to cancel our date on account of being smelly._

_"Although, I should be thankful that the guys at the Fisheries seem to like me alright. Except for Peach. The man is incredibly paranoid of Fontaine. When I asked about Fontaine, the man freaked out and told me to mind my own business."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The diary ends on that note. Hmm. As far as I can put together Fontaine owns Fontaine's Fisheries (obviously) but he's also the head smuggler. The man also seems to have people afraid of him, or at least just Peach.

I drop the diary on the floor and glance around the office once more before leaving. I need to find that Elite. Who knows, maybe it's the Arbiter. I wouldn't mind seeing him again; I could certainly use his help.

"Hey 117, or whatever your name is" Victor's voice comes in through my comm.

"Can I help you?"

"Testy aren't ya. What's wrong, still in the legal offices?"

"No, I'm near Emile Sosa's office."

"Oh, wow. You got far; anyway, I was just calling to tell you we made it. Thanks for your help."

"How well do you know Police Plaza?'

"Sorry, that's Alison's department. Hold on."

"What can I do for you?" Alison's British accent fills the helmet's speakers.

"I need to know what's below me."

"Where are you?"

"Undercover Investigator, Emile Sosa's office."

"Oh." Her voice is sad and I think back to the audio tape I heard.

"Well, there's the cafeteria but I doubt you'd find that useful. There's a gym and rec-room, oh, and the surveillance room. The floor below that has the evidence room, the armory, forensics lab. Let's see, the floor below that is the lobby, and court rooms. The basement level is the jail cells."

"How would I go about getting to the jails, I have a feeling what I'm looking for is down there."

"Victor will have to tell you that." A pause and then Victor's voice filled the speakers.

"Alright, Alice tells me you want to get to the slammers. I'm not even going to ask you why, I don't think I want to know. There's several different ways I can think of, one is to simply jump through holes in the floors. Another way is to kill Sullivan and get his security key or hack into the security elevator's computer and ride all the way to the basement. The latter is probably your best bet, only problem is that it'll set off an alarm when you reach the ground floor. Expect a waiting party."

"Noted." The communication is cut and I'm alone once again. Guess I have to find that elevator. I come to a cross roads at the end of the hallway. Left or right? I'll go right, at least until I find a map. I walk for only three minutes when I hear noises around the corner from where I am.

"Don't be a slow poke Mr. Bubbles, angels don't wait for slow pokes." I peek around the corner and see a Little Sister digging her hypo needle into a corpse of a man in a police uniform. The Big Daddy with her is the type that I have dubbed the Bouncer; it's the one with the big drill.

I take my SMG off of its holster and check the clip. Better get this over with now. I take one of the grenades I found in Steinman's desk and pull the pin before I throw it at the Big Daddy. I know that the explosion shouldn't hurt the Little Sister that much, not with the slug still implanted in her.

The explosion makes Mr. Bubbles eyes glow red as he spins around to face me. I shoot an Electro Bolt at him to stun him for a moment as I let off the clip into him.

"Kill him!" The Little Sister screams as she cheers on the roaring Big Daddy. I shoot another Electro Bolt as I reload the SMG; I'm almost out of ammo for this thing. I'm busy reloading my SMG and I don't notice that the Big Daddy has recovered.

The thing rams into me with its drill and I distinctly feel a few of my ribs crack and the gel layer rips on my stomach. Flecks of blood spray on my visor as I resist coughing it up. Before it can ram its drill into me again, I shoot off another Electro Bolt and stun it once again.

My hand reaches for my pistol and I let off an entire clip into its helmet. The thing lets go of me and I grab my SMG as I stumble away. I shoot off my Winter Blast to freeze it and I shoot the brand new clip into it. I shoot it with another Electro Bolt and reload my weapons as quickly as I can while ignoring the pain in my torso.

Raising the guns once again I fire them at the same time. The combination of fire seems to have taken its toll on Mr. Bubbles and he roars once more before collapsing. I drop to my knees and pull off my helmet and allow myself to cough up the blood in my lungs. What comes out isn't the familiar red but a more bluish color with some green and yellow in it. Flood green and yellow, though I have no idea where the blue comes from. I bet Harrison has an answer for it.

I'm shaken out of my thoughts when I hear the sound of little feet running away. The Little Sister is running away. Damn it! Jumping to my feet, I run after her and catch up rather quickly. I grab her carefully and my hand glows almost automatically.

She coughs up the red liquid and I'm quick to collect it. The little blond girl looks at me curiously as I check my nearly depleted SMG; all I have left is the pistol and the sword now.

"Thank you sir." I nod as I shakily get to my feet once more. The pain has subsided a bit; I check the wound and find that my blood is the same color of the stuff I coughed up. It's scabby and I have to say it's one of the oddest things I have ever seen.

"I'll help you find a Tunnel." She smiles and runs off down the hall and I follow.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the security elevator is?" She looks back at me and nods energetically.

"It's near the Tunnel, I can take you there." I just realize that my suit is starting to come apart. I need to fix my shield generator soon…I'm suddenly aware that I'm in a lot of pain. I grab my sides and limp after the Little Sister.

"Are you okay Mister?" The little girl is looking at me with concern in her teal eyes.

"Fine." She doesn't look convinced but continues to lead me to the elevator. The little girl suddenly freezes when she turns a corner. I'm about to ask her what's wrong but soon see the problem.

A Splicer has his back to us and is injecting a hypo needle full of a blue substance (similar to the color my blood has turned); electricity ran through his veins as he struggled not to twitch. What in the world? I turn and gesture to the little girl to hide and I grab my pistol off of it's holster.

I take aim and fire a shot into his head. The Splicer goes down but I hear a shot from down the hall and two more Splicers appear. They are in police uniforms and are wielding pistols in one hand while their other hand looks as if it is on fire. A fire Plasmid, how predictable.

I take aim and fire at the first one as he tries to fire at me. Twice in the chest, once in the head directly between the eyes. The other fires three times, two go wide while the third one hits me in my left shoulder. Hissing in pain, I shoot the Cop Splicer in the chest three times before he goes down. I'm just glad he didn't use his fire Plasmid.

After holstering my pistol, I check the wound in my shoulder or rather, lack thereof. It stung but the armor of the suit stopped the bullet from actually breaking the skin. Very fortuitous, I know something bad is going to happen to counter my luck.

When I look up again I find wide light blue eyes staring at me. A few strands of her blond hair have come out of her bun and she has a few bumps and bruises but otherwise the Little Sister is alright.

"Are you okay sir?"

"I'll be alright, now where's that elevator?" She pauses a moment before running off and waving at me to follow. She runs down several halls before coming to a large metal door that doesn't look like it could be destroyed very easily. The little girl gets down on her hands and knees and crawls through a smaller door built into the larger one.

The door opens for me to see not only a Little Sibling Tunnel but also the security elevator and monitors that show different parts of the Plaza. Obviously the feeds are coming from Camera Sentinels, some of them seem to have blown out.

"Bye mister! I'll tell Mama Tenenbaum you helped me." I nod at her and help her into the Tunnel. She gives one last wave before disappearing into the darkness. I turn and examine the security cameras for a moment before determining that none of them are in the Jails. Turning away, I look at the security elevator and pry the panel off of the terminal.

I take out my Hacker's Toolkit and begin working. I can't help but be surprised by how easy it is to hack the computer. Before I couldn't tell you the first thing about hacking and left it to Cortana but now it's like I'm an expert at it.

The screen on the elevator turns from blue to green and I know it's been a successful hack. I hurry into the elevator when the door opens and reload my pistol. I haven't forgotten Victor's warning about a waiting party at the bottom of the elevator.

It takes the elevator six minutes to get to the basement level and by then I've reloaded and checked all of my equipment. The elevator door slides open with a pleasant dinging noise and I step out. It only takes two steps before the alarm sets off and the lights turn red.

I yank my pistol from its holster and wait for the inevitable target. I'm not disappointed, not a second later sentinels come barreling down the hall accompanied by more Cop Splicers. Those Splicers are very fast; almost as if they got a smaller dosage of the Spartan Augmentation I got during training.

Two bullets go into one of the Cop Splicers as another one fires a Fire Ball at me. I jump to the ground to dodge it but one of the three sentinels opens up a stream of bullets at me making me roll out of the way quickly.

I get to my feet and fire four bullets into one of the sentinels and fire an Electro Bolt into two of the four Splicers still standing. I punch another one (killing him instantly) and reload my pistol while they're momentarily distracted. A Cop Splicer opens fire at me as I swing the pistol around to shoot at one of the sentinels. One of the bullets clips my upper arm but I ignore the pain and destroy the sentinel I was aiming at.

Without breaking movement I swing around and fire at the Splicer who shot at me. Two Splicers down, two to go and one sentinel left. One of them jumps at me but I instinctively melee him with my pistol and shoot him when he's down.

I dance out of the way when the last sentinel finally gets its bearings and fires at me. A bullet from my pistol quiets the sentinel immediately. They are really easy to destroy without the shield. I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I get singed by a Fire Ball that flies right by me. I bash my pistol into his head.

That's all of the security, for the moment anyway. I grab pistol ammo from some of the Cop Splicers and quickly go on my way. No use sticking around and waiting for more sentinels. Besides I still have to find that Elite.

My NAV point is pointing me to the last cell in the hall. When I get there, I'm not surprised to see the Elite but I am surprised to see that it is not a soldier but a pilot. A major if his red armor is anything to go by, he probably survived the water outside using his air supply built into his suit.

I pry open the cell door and move to wake the unconscious Elite. I shake him but he doesn't respond. Okay, time to try something more drastic. I place my hand flat on his chest and charge an Electro Bolt through his system. His body convulses and finally goes still again.

I'm considering what other options I have when he starts to stir. The Elite looks at me for a moment as he tries to gain focus.

"Spartan."

"Good guess." The Elite doesn't reply as he looks around.

"Where are we?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It took a while to recap but I finally got through. Now the Major (as he hasn't deemed it fit to tell me his real name) and I are working our way to the armory. The plus side of this is that I've got a companion to help me but on the down side I've had to give the Major my Energy Sword. Not only that but the pilot insists on calling me Demon. I know it's for the soul purpose of annoying me.

"So let me get this straight, we are the only survivors of the Forward Unto Dawn's wreckage (as far as we know) and now we're trapped in a human city filled with psychopaths and those with no morals."

"Well, some of them have morals."

"That hardly redeems the situation, Demon." I just glance back at him as we continue walking down the hallway. We are now on the second floor of the building (not counting the basement level) and are making our way to the armory. The two of us need more weapons if we are going to go assassinate Sullivan.

"So tell me why your armor doesn't work, you were rather vague on that point."

"First of all, my flight Combat Harness is made for flying, not open assault. Second when we crash landed here my Shield Generator took the impact full force and shorted out. As for my Cloaking Device it suffered from the saturation effect from the Shield Generator and only works when it feels like it. Same for the Motion Tracker. I can fix it but I need the tools to do it. I'm hoping if I follow you I'll find the equipment necessary to fix it. If I'm lucky but it seems my luck has run out."

At least the Major has agreed to help me, then again what else can he do? His armor isn't as damaged as mine but its Shield doesn't work and the Cloaking Device is on the fritz and his Motion Tracker only seems to work when it feels like it. So I'll reiterate, what can he do?

We had just passed the evidence room and are following signs toward the Armory. Hopefully something useful will still be there. Next on our list is to go to Sullivan's office; I found a map earlier and saw it was on the very top floor overlooking the Plaza.

I push open a door and freeze when I see a large group of Splicers waiting on the other side. I only have my pistol and the Major only has the Energy Sword, that isn't enough. Just as I was about to gesture to the Major to cut and run seven sentinels come barreling down the hall.

These sentinels look different from the other ones I've seen. Instead of floating they have a propeller on their heads and blue sentinel beams. I'm just about to turn tail and run when the sentinels attack the Splicers.

The Major and I stand there shocked when one of the Splicers is about to throw a grenade at us, one of the Sentinels uses its beam to destroy the grenade in its hand. We take our chance and run for the door on the other side of the hall.

We push open the doors and see that this hall has a cross roads. One leads to the forensics room while the other leads to the armory. I'll give you three guesses as to what door we went through.

The armory is designed much like the ones on Pillar of Autumn; however most of the weapons were missing or lying empty on the floor. That's not what caught our eyes, the plasma weapons and pile of UNSC weapons in the corner got our attention.

The Major jogs over to the weapons and immediately holsters two Plasma Rifles, a Carbine, and several Plasma Grenades. I, on the other hand find an odd looking pistol and shotgun. The shotgun has three barrels that is each loaded with different types of ammo. Two of which I don't recognize while the third is standard issue. The pistol is the same except with two barrels and neither ammo I recognize, though I can tell its heavier then standard.

After holstering both weapons, I begin to search through the wreckage of the room as the Major moves towards the door. My back is to the Major and I don't hear anything from him until I hear: "It's looking at me." Surprised I turn to him and see a propeller sentinel hovering in the doorway staring directly at the Major. I take the fact that it isn't attacking as a good sign. I move to stand beside the Major but it turns and floats down the hall towards the security room on this floor. The one that we passed.

We look at each other before I shrug and follow the sentinel. Yes, I realize we could be walking into a trap but on the other hand it could be something different. Like more survivors. So we follow it and every door we have to go through opens automatically.

After we ride the security elevator for one floor we are lead to the….rec-room? The inside of the recreation room is actually in pretty good shape. The games are even working; the only thing actually wrong with the room is a layer of dust.

"'Bout time you got here." We look around the room for a source and see it coming from a holo pad. A man in a rumpled tan rain coat, brown suit, matching shoes, dull black tie, thick curly black hair, and a cigar in his right hand. The AI waves to us and we walk closer. The avatar is like a late twentieth century detective television show I was once talked into watching with Johnson. I think it was called Colombo.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Vindicated Conviction; I am the AI for Police Plaza and the Legal Offices. In other words Chief of Police Sullivan's personnel AI. Well, that was until he went nuts. Had to lock him into his office, unfortunately I was trapped here."

"What do you want from us?" The Major asks as he looks around the rec-room.

"What you want. Out of here, though I'd settle for out of the Plaza."

"We need to kill your ex-boss." The AI nods and pats the pockets of his trench coat looking for something.

"Give me a moment." He says and finally takes a notebook out of a pocket. He opens it and flips through some pages before stopping.

"Alright, Sullivan's in his office on the top floor."

The Major takes a step closer to the holo pad and says "So, we assassinate this Zullivan, get the key, get to Port Neptune, but I have a question."

"What."

"Where was the rest of my equipment taken?"

"Hephaestus, as far as I know. Or at least it will be. Everything goes through and is processed in Hermes Wings which is located in Arcadia."

"How do things get around that quickly, we've only been here for a few hours? It's not like you can e-mail objects." Vindicated Conviction simply points to a machine in the corner of the room.

"The Pneumo sends things instantaneously. Every important place in Rapture has one. Your equipment was sent through one. I'll call Gaia ahead of time to see if she can stall the Pneumo system in the Post Office." A dog suddenly appeared beside him as he tore out a page of his notebook and placed it in his collar. The dog barked then ran off.

"What was that?' The Major asked.

"That? That was Dog."

"What's his name?"

"Dog, he doesn't respond to anything else. Anyway, Dog will get the message to Gaia without interception. Unless White Beard… never mind."

"Is the path to Sullivan's office clear?"

"For the moment. My sentinels should take care of any opposition. By the way Master Chief, you should use the ammo you picked up in the armory."

"How did you know my rank?"

"Oh, I monitor all communications in my territory. It's not like I have anything better to do."

"Can we take you with us?"

"I don't see how that's possible, you'd need a storage device and I wouldn't be very useful stuck in a box talking to myself and Dog would I?" I reach to the port in the back of my head and take out the blank AI chip. I show it to him and he takes the cigar out of his mouth.

"That works. Come on Dog." Dog appears and he picks him up as he touches the chip, transferring his program to it.

"Are you sure we should take the construct with us?" The Major asks as he looks at me.

"Did I mention I can control all sentinels, turrets, and cameras within a set perimeter?"

"He's coming." I reply shortly after Conviction.

**-END OF CHAPTER FOUR-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note:

Dear Readers,

Yay, John has some new friends. So what do you think of the Major and Vindicated Conviction? I decided the Chief needed some companions.

Anyway, I would like to explain more about Conviction. He IS a 'Smart AI' but at the same time he isn't. You see he can do a ton of different things but he was programmed to focus more on Law and Legal subjects then anything else. This of course made him a lot different from other 'Smart AIs' and Dog will be explained in much more detail later on.

Thanks for reading,

KTHM

Co-Author's Note:

Hi,

Just wanted to let everyone know that Conviction and the Major was my idea and if you don't like them, TOO BAD! I like them and they are staying in the story. Especially since we have written up to Chapter Ten.

-Mortified Mind


	6. Unknown Soldier

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Five: Unknown Soldier

_____________________________________________________________________________________

We are just outside the hall leading to Sullivan's office. Conviction was trying to hack into Sullivan's network and was too busy to talk. Now it's quiet, too quiet.

"That was too easy." The Major comments as he grips the handle on one of his Plasma Rifles but doesn't un-holster it. I just nod and push open the door of the hallway. We both freeze when we see exactly how the hallway is decorated.

Bodies of hanged smugglers are strapped to the walls with the lights hitting them just right to make it extra creepy. We take a few steps into the hall and cautiously move toward the door of Sullivan's office. We are halfway down the hall when the door closes behind us and we hear the unmistakable sound of it locking. That's when the lights go out.

"I could almost feel that coming." I say with a sigh and close my eyes briefly.

"Indeed." The Major replies simply as I hear him un-holster his weapon.

The next thing we know, grenades are being thrown at us. We dive to the side as we hear giggling and footsteps scurrying behind, ahead, and above us. My eyes are starting to adjust and I can see things much better, almost perfectly thanks to the augmentations done to my eyes during training.

I grab my pistol and fire at the one on the ceiling; unfortunately I didn't realize I had grabbed the modified one from the Armory. The resulting bang renders me deaf for a moment as the Splicer falls dead from the ceiling. The other Splicers freeze for a moment before one throws a grenade at the Major.

He jumps out of the way and fires at the one who just tried to blow him to pieces while I get the one in front of us. Anti-personnel Rounds, not issued in the UNSC, you have to personally order them yourself if you want them. Cost quite a bit of money if I recall.

Now that all three Splicers are dead the Major and I move to holster our weapons but think better of it when two RPG turrets rise from the ground in front of Sullivan's door. This is going to hurt. I'm about to dive behind what little cover there is when the Major simply grabs two Plasma Grenades and throws them perfectly. Needless to say the turrets don't last long.

He looks at me as he gestures for me to go ahead. I reload my pistol and walk cautiously towards the door. It's sealed shut and there is no panel to hack it open.

"Conviction did you get into Sullivan's network?"

"No, Sullivan's one of the most computer literate people in the city, I'm also not a Smart AI though I'm not Dumb either. I'm kinda in between but the point is, I can't get in. Either Sullivan open's it himself, which I don't see happening or…" At that moment the door opens on its own. The Major and I look at each other confused before a grenade is thrown at us from inside of the room. Too shocked to move we just stare at the grenade as the fuse shorts out. A dud. We hear Sullivan curse from inside of the room.

"They took everything from me! My rank, my daughter, my wife! Now you're here for my job! I'll die before I let you take what's left!" The Major and I duck to either side of the door as bullets are shot at us. Holstering my pistol, I grab my shotgun from my back as the Major duel-wields his Plasma Rifles.

I risk taking a look into the room and the first thing that catches my eyes is the large window with a desk in front of it. The rest of the walls are covered with monitors showing different rooms of the Plaza and Neptune's Bounty if the monitor's labels are right.

I pull my head back as more bullets are fired at me but I know he's behind his desk. I gesture to the Major and he nods as I ready my shotgun. One of the modified ammos is in it, couldn't hurt.

The Major tosses a grenade behind the desk and I dive into the room and take cover behind a fallen table. I get to my knees and take aim before firing off a perfect shot. He convulses as electricity shoots through his body.

"That would be Electric Buck, Chief." Conviction says as I duck behind my cover again.

"Atlas! You must belong to him, good it's been so long since I met anyone who plays for blood." Sullivan yells as the wall behind me is riddled with bullets. I hear plasma bursts as the Major fires at the crazed Police Chief.

I shoot Sullivan again with the Electric Buck, stunning him for the moment as the Major holsters his Plasma Pistols and pulls the Sword off of an arm holster. The pilot moves out from his cover and charges at Sullivan in hopes of impaling him. The Constable suddenly explodes into red mist and reforms behind the Major.

"I've tricked you freak!" And hit's the Major with a blue fire ball right in the back. The Major yells in pain and spins around.

"Wort, wort, wort!" And slashes him with the sword just as Sullivan Teleports again. It's been a while since I've heard an Elite say that. As my attention is focused on the Major's health, a brief disturbance appears in the corner of my eye.

I spin around and see Sullivan appear right behind me and on pure instinct I whack him, nearly crushing his ribs. The Constable doubles over in pain and teleports again. That's odd; I've never done that before. Well, not like that anyway. It was like….the Flood.

Before I could dwell on it any more I hear the Major shout and I spin around. Sullivan has called for sentinels, it's the floating ones rather then the ones with the propeller that Conviction used.

"Can you hack them?" I ask Conviction as I duck to get out of the line of fire.

"I'll give it a try. Though I should mention that hacking isn't my specialty, stopping it is." I choose not to reply as I switch the rounds in my shotgun to regular rounds. Sullivan throws a grenade not far from me and I am quick to jump away from my makeshift cover.

"You're fast, my daughter was fast too." He zones off into an odd trancelike state as if he was the only person in the world. That's all the Major needed to skewer him. Now we have to deal with the sentinels.

**The Major**_____________________________________________________________________________

I grab the crazed human and push the sword into his stomach. Oddly there was no gasp of pain, no twisted expression of horror on his face that commonly followed something as painful as being gutted. He just kept starring blankly at something he was holding in his hand. His dying words puzzle me but humans always have.

"Kelly." I drop the human and look at what he was holding in his hand. It's a human photograph (as they seem to call it) of a young girl (maybe 6 Earth years) with blue hair and she appeared to be tall but thin. The girl was obviously important to the Police Chief. I can dwell on this no further for the Spartan calls to me over the sound of pistol fire.

"I could use your help over here!" I turn only mildly surprised and ready a Plasma Rifle as I absently pocket the photograph.

**Master Chief, Spartan 117**________________________________________________________________

I holster my shotgun and pull my special pistol out; Conviction had mentioned that the other ammo should be Anti-Armor. Only one shot proved Conviction right. I glance over at the Major and see him kneeling by Sullivan's corpse.

"I could use your help over here!" He glances at me lazily and un-holsters his Plasma Rifle before firing a few times at the sentinels. All of his shots hit them.

"Thanks." I say sarcastically as I fire at another one, he just grunts and gets to his feet. We make rather quick work of the sentinels.

"Place me on the terminal on Sullivan's desk." Vindicated Conviction says as we holster our weapons. I do as I'm told like I usually do when an AI orders me around. You know, I just realize that despite all my enhancements and specialized training, I'm a real push-over.

Conviction's avatar appears on the holo-pad with Dog asleep at his feet. He rolls his eyes and wipes drool off of his simulated shoes as he takes his notepad out of his coat pocket.

I turn away and search Sullivan's desk where I find several Audio Diaries.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_"Chief of Police, Gilbert Sullivan,_

_"Well, we finally did it today. Went up to her house, arrested her, and convicted her in a fair kangaroo court. Ryan ordered her to be execution faster then I could say, "We got her."_

_"He came around the desk and shook my hand; he said he'd give an accommodation to me and all of my men. All I could say was, "Thank you, sir." what else could I do? It's like the UNSC all over again."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Sounds like when they arrested Anna Culpepper. It didn't make much sense; she was just an outspoken reporter. I think that's when Sullivan started to really lose it. Some of his mental disorders came back, he had been better after he got discharged. "

"Discharged?" I ask turning back to Conviction.

"Yes, he was in the UNSC on the front lines fighting Rebels. Kind of a hero, he got a lot of awards if I recall correctly. Then Sullivan lost it and they discharged him." I vaguely recall reading something about a Sullivan but I didn't make the connection.

"After he was discharged he went to work for a security firm, did a lot of work for Ryan Industries. Though they knew each other prior to his security work it was then that they actually became friends."

"Who?"

"Hmm, oh, uh, Ryan and Sullivan. Anyway, he got married and they had a little girl but she got kidnapped. Though, strangely Ryan's kid got kidnapped around the same time and the two drove themselves crazy trying to find them. Though, everyone is convinced that they died because their bodies are lying in their graves. I think denial but that's just me.

"To make a long story short, Anna Culpepper was his wife's sister. Mister and Missus got into a fight on the day of the hanging and the next morning his wife killed herself."

"Demon, I found the key we came here for." I turn to see the Major holding up a gold object that resembled a computer chip. I nod and insert another Audio Diary.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_"Chief of Police, Gilbert Sullivan,_

_"Peach escaped. I know, I couldn't believe it either. I come in early this morning and I notice half of the goddamned Plaza is gone. Bill comes into the office with his toolkit and has the gall to look at he torn up Plaza then at me and say, "What seems to be the trouble Constable?"_

_"It took all my self control to keep from pulling my gun on 'em. Bastard gets more annoying as each day goes by. If that's not enough, his nephew Victor comes up to me and tells me the place needs a hell of a lot of screen doors. The whole family needs a good kick in the rear._

_"But I digress, that Peach is a slippery fellow. Apparently, Peach got some of his friends to deliver a bomb to the station so he could use it as a distraction to escape. The man killed three officers and an engineer on his way out through the maintenance tunnels._

_"Victor managed to bash one of Peach's crew on the head with a wrench. We'll be interrogating poor Timmy soon in Neptune's Bounty. He can thank Peach for destroying the interrogation rooms."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Who is this 'Peach', that he speaks of?" The Major asks as he walks up to the desk.

"A paranoid fish gutter," Conviction replies casually. "Oh, and he also runs the entirety of Neptune's Bounty." The AI pockets his notepad and looks between me and the Major.

"Nevertheless, that's where we need to go. Where's the nearest Bathysphere?"

"It'll be easier to take the tram."

"That's not what he asked, Construct." The Major replies in an annoyed voice.

"Well, let me put it to you this way. Here is where we are," Conviction brings up a map of the Plaza that appears above his head and points to Sullivan's office. "And here is the Bathysphere." He points all the way on the other side of the Plaza. "The tram is here." He points to just down the hall."

"What inferior human designer puts the main mode of transportation clear across town? Away from anyone's convenience."

"Blame McDonagh."

"Victor?" I ask turning back to Conviction.

"No, the other one. His Uncle Bill is the Head Contractor for the city and he's also one of the council members. But the point is, it's easier to take the tram." The Major and I nod as Conviction and Dog jump back onto the chip.

**-END OF CHAPTER FIVE-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

Hello,

Yes, I know in BioShock, Sullivan was more of a back round character but I wanted more of a back round story for some people. By the way, I realize the game never actually mentions Sullivan's first name so I made one up. My brother and I thought calling him Gilbert was witty but I don't expect people to get the joke.

Also, if you didn't get the fact that the girl in the photo was Kelly from John's Spartan Training then you need to get your head checked. Either that or you didn't read the books. Shame on you if you didn't. And no, the Chief did not hear Sullivan say her name, nor did he see the photo.

I know I have other things to say but I can't remember them at the moment. If I do remember them I'll put them into an Author's Note later. If you have any question, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for reading,

KTHM


	7. Neptune's Bounty

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Six: Neptune's Bounty

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The tram reminded me of the underwater elevators on the second Halo I visited. The only difference is that it doesn't drift and stays balanced. I look over at the Major and find him checking his weapons for the tenth time.

I look out the window and see the oddest sight. Some Splicers with gills and fins are fighting a lone Big Daddy on the ocean floor. Luckily they don't notice us.

"This is indeed a cursed place." I just nod and turn away from the fighting. That's when a sea chantey starts playing over the speakers. The Major and I look at each other when a grisly voice starts singing along with the music.

"Oh, no! It can't be! Didn't Peach kill you?!" Conviction whispers in complete disbelief.

"Arr, what ye, cigar chomping son of a weevil eating barnacle brained boot licker, doing here?"

"Answer my question you butcher of the English language." That's when the tram came to an abrupt stop.

"I'll start the tram when ye land lubbers start singing." The Major and I look directly at the camera and reply at the same time, firmly. "NO!"

"We're not singing, now start the tram." The Major growls as his hand goes for his Plasma Rifle.

"You think that's wise, firing a weapon in close quarters?" Asks Conviction.

"I don't care."

"Listen, White Beard just start the damn tram." Conviction says sharply.

"Or what? Ye'll sic that dog on poor Ishmael, like ye did last time! He hasn't been right since!" We hear the sound of feathers flapping and the voice of a parrot.

"Belgian waffles." Then the parrot whistles.

"Arr. Shut your porthole, Ishmael. Or I'll send ye to the Choir Invisible."

"Where they serve waffles." It whistles again.

"What did Dog do to the parrot?"

"I couldn't tell you but I've never seen Dog move that fast." Conviction answers.

"What did Ishmael do to Dog?"

"You know, I can't remember." Conviction's avatar appears on a small holo-pad near the control panel. He flips through a few pages in his notebook before coming to a stop at one page.

"Oh my."

"What?"

"Never you mind." He replies quickly and just as quickly, pockets his notepad. That's when another avatar appears next to Conviction. It shows a man with a yellow raincoat and rain hat sitting on a rock with water lapping around it and a parrot on his shoulder. Looking closer. he has an eye patch on his right eye and a peg leg which has some fishing equipment sitting beside it…and no beard.

"Please start the tram." White Beard is about to reply when Ishmael just starts freaking out, squawking at the top of his holographic lungs. White Beard just rolls his eye and takes a waffle out of his tackle box and shoves it into Ishmael's beak (who happily eats it).

"I'll never forgive your dog for what he did to my parrot. I have to live with this everyday." Dog opens one droopy eye and then closes it as if nothing had happened and promptly falls asleep. Ishmael's seemed to have two wandering eyes that blinked out of sequence. He gave a short whistle when he was finished with the waffle.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, poor Ishmael is a couple of worms short of a can."

"What?" The Major says in a completely lost voice.

"A few lobsters short of a trap." The Major looks blankly.

"A couple of fish sticks short of a fry basket." The Major blinks.

"A couple crackers short of a barrel."

"Excuse me?"

"He's rampant!" I finally yell not able to take it anymore.

"All hail Citizen Snips." Ishmael's eyes blink out of sequence as he whistles at a holographic crab that sitting on the same rock. We chose to ignore the poor bird.

"Ishmael is the reason why Peach couldn't delete me."

"I can see why." I mutter as I look at all the way the tram still had to go to get to Neptune's Bounty.

"Can you please start the tram?"

"Arr, fine." He grumbles to himself.

"Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to bed." He sings quietly to himself as he puts away his bait and reaches for the tackle box. "I had a little drink about an hour ago and it's gone straight to my head. Now wherever I may roam, by land, sea, or foam. You'll always hear me singing this song. Show me the way-BEES!" He screams when he opens the bait box and bees come out and attack him.

"Aw, my bees." The insane parrot whistles.

"Damn it Ishmael! What did I tell you about this?" He swats at the bird and it flees out of the projection. He glares after it before reaching back into the bait box and pulling out a remote and pushing a button. The tram begins moving immediately.

"Ever think to yourself, wow I'm stuck with him the rest of my life." Conviction says past the cigar in his mouth.

"Waffles!" Comes over the speakers but the parrot doesn't return to the holo-projector. White Beard grabs for a harpoon but doesn't throw it.

"One day, just one day." He mutters to himself as his avatar disappears. Conviction just shakes his head and disappears as well. The ride continues smoothly enough even with the grisly singing, Conviction muttering to myself in my helmet, Ishmael's squalls, and the Major's continuous pacing back and forth. But at least it isn't tense.

The tram stops and the doors open. The Major and I un-holster our weapons and make a sweep of the area. White Beard's avatar is waiting for us on a holo-pad near the tram. He's whistling to himself and baiting his fishing line. We appear to be in a security station for some reason. Before I could ask, Conviction beats me to the punch.

"The tram is usually only used by police officers, which is why it's located not far from Sullivan's office. Fontaine's Fisheries is not too far from here, you'll be coming up the back ways." I nod as my eyes search the office for anything useful. Stun grenades and sleeping gas, which could be useful. I quickly pick them up and walk towards the door with the Major following closely behind me.

I crack the doors open a bit and take a peek out. There is a Splicer in a police uniform trying to fix a turret. He growls and kicks it as hard as he could and the thing beeps and starts working again. The Splicer sighs in relief and begins to pick up his tools. That was when the Major uses his Carbine to put a shot through his head.

In retaliation, a group of Splicers jump down from the ceiling. I spare the Major a look before un-holstering my pistol. "The best laid plans of mice and men right, Major." He just glares and says, "Such deeds strengthen the blood, now take your pick demon, you need some target practice" And with that we level our weapons take aim and…Damn! Where did they go, they were just about to charge us.

"Demon, listen." The Major quietly hisses, I did as he suggested and then I heard something like… "They're on the ceiling! " I call out. Without so much as a word, the Major primes one of the stun grenades and tosses it in the general direction of the Splicers, it detonates but from the sound of the maniacal laughter it fell short.

"Arr, you throw like a fish wife." White Beard says through the loud speakers, distracting the Splicers for a brief moment and that's all I needed now that I got a line on them, I take aim on the nearest Splicer and fire two anti personal rounds at her chest and she back flips out of the way with little effort. "Damn these Splicers are quicker then the others." White Beard suddenly comes on the line, "Arr that's why Peach stays in the Fisheries…that and I think he likes the smell of dead fish."

"Why don't you do something constructive and help me, like get the Sentinels down here." Snaps Conviction. "Why always the fighting?" Whistles poor Ishmael. "Silence all three of you!" Growls the Major. "We have all the problems we can handle at the moment without the chorus of you three morons constantly arguing and-" The Major is cut off before he could finish as two Splicers jump him and try to cut his throat and the other trying get the Carbine away from him.

I take careful aim with my pistol in my right hand and my Winter Blast in my left, almost instantaneously I hit the Splicer still trying to get The Major's Carbine. With the Winter Blast I freeze both the Splicer and part of the Major with it, causing the other Splicer on the Major's back to pause giving him the opportunity to smash it into the wall behind him. There was the unmistakable sound of bones being crushed and she let's go. I put a single round through its grotesque head.

The Major glares at me and says in a perfectly civilized tone, "If it is not too much trouble for you, I would rather not spend the rest of the fight frozen to this WALL!"

"Your welcome." I say in equally civil tone dripping with sarcasm. I quickly smash the Splicer still frozen, freeing the Major and his Carbine…with the Splicer's hands still attached to the barrel. The Major gives me his death glare and all I can say is, "What?"

"If you two children are done I have some good news and some bad news." Conviction reports.

"What's the good news?" I ask whilst reloading our weapons "Well, it took some sober effort for me, White Beard, and his sanity challenged fowl to get the Sentinels to activate, and we just barely managed to get it done."

"Great, so what's the bad news?" Out of the corner of my eye I spot one of the Splicers crab walking on the ceiling towards me. "Wait, hold that thought Conviction." I fire three quick rounds and it drops to the floor with a thud, I look towards The Major and see that he has all ready killed five of them but like the Flood they just seem to pour out of the walls and they were getting closer. I put away my pistol and grab my shotgun. "If I may suggest Chief, you might want to switch to the Exploding Buck."

I did as he suggested. The Major was busy reloading when a new wave of Splicers came from the ceiling. While four or five charge for the Major, I take aim and let out four shots and the buck did as its name implied, on contact four of Splicers went up in flames. "Mmm somethin' smells gooood." Replies White Beard. "Just like waffles." Whistles Ishmael. "Arr, enough with the damn waffles." Snaps White Beard.

The Major looks up in time to see six more Splicers coming straight at him. "We're just Lonely, we need your blood!" Upon hearing this The Major tosses aside the Carbine and grabs his Energy Sword. He smiles in his species' own particular way "Come and get some." He then proceeds to cut down the Splicer ranks with ease as it was too late to stop them somersaulting towards him, he laughs as he says, "Good exercise, is it not Demon?"

I just nod and finish reloading my shotgun while we wait for the next wave to come, but it never did. The Major and I stand there for what felt like an eternity, watching for anything out of place……nothing, we're alone again. I lower my shotgun and The Major retrieves his Carbine from were he dropped it. I then break the silence, "All right Conviction what's the bad news?" There was a pregnant pause before White Beard replies, "What this gutless cur is dancing around, is the fact that when we finally got the damn Wobble Bots on our side, we tripped a security wall all over this area".

"Who's? Sullivan's or Peach's?" I ask and Conviction replies, "Neither it was Ryan, it was a well laid trap." The Major comes over to me and says, "So we're stuck here until either one of you Constructs get past the firewall."

"No we can't do anything in here, we are all prisoners in this place, and everything beyond this room is now effectually locked to AI's, Splicers, and you two."

"Can't you Constructs just 'Hack' your way out?" The Major asks. "NO!" They both reply.

"And Cortana said I'm stubborn." I mutter to myself whilst scanning through the blue prints Victor gave me. Nothing that will help.

That's when I hear tapping against a wall. It's…Morse code. No one uses Morse code anymore, I'm glad Deja taught me this. Even though she thought it was outdated.

"S…..T….A…..N….D…Stop, new word."

"Demon, what are you doing?" I just hold up my hand for silence.

"B….A….OH." I dive away from the wall whilst pulling the Major with me. I cover my head and the Major follows suit when a large explosion rocks the area.

We look through the smoke and debris to see a tall man with deep black hair and dark blue eyes. He's wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit with a nametag that says 'Harvey' on it. A pair of beat up old fashioned cowboy boots covers his feet.

"What the hell are you standing around for?! Don't you know a jailbreak when you see it? C'mon get up off your ass and…..whoa! What the hell is that?!" He yells as he points to the Major and goes for a wrench tucked on his belt.

"He's with me." I reply before he can un-holster his wrench.

"Uh….you have interesting tastes." Harvey replies in an uncomfortable voice as he examines the Major from a distance.

"Not like that. I meant that he is accompanying me to Fontaine's Fisheries."

"Johnny's faithful companion." Ishmael whistles. I just look at the insane parrot oddly; I don't even want to know how he knows my name. The Major just looks confused.

"Anyway, where did you come from?" I ask turning back to the mechanic/demolitions expert. Harvey points behind him.

"Irrigation tunnels, they run from here to Arcadia!" He says a little too loudly. He's obviously had been too close to one to many explosions.

"Yes, but who sent you?"

"What. A little louder, I can't hear ya chief."

"WHO SENT YOU!?"

"Gosh, you didn't have to yell. My ex-boss sent me."

"Victor?"

"Yes, uh, well, no, actually. Atlas told Dr. Harrison to tell Victor, who told me to tell you. Well, are we going or not? Ryan's itching to have me nailed to his trophy wall."

"Why does Ryan hate you?"

"Well, I blew something up that I probably shouldn't have, and when I was told I was getting fired, I MAY have accidentally….you know what! That's not important right now. Remember what the rancher said to the Shepard. "Let's get the flock out of here."

With that, the odd man turned and walked back into the hole he blew into the wall. The Major and I look at each other before I gesture for him to go first. He then shakes his head and gestures for me to go ahead. Shrugging, I follow Harvey.

Pipes run along every wall, a few pumping stations every couple of yards and dirty water running in between two walkways.

"Where are we going?"

"Atlas told me you wanted to find Peach, I'm to direct you to the Fisheries. Though you'll come in through the back way. By the way, don't mention me!"

"Why?"

"What!"

"Why!"

"What!"

"WHY!"

"Yes, that's very kind of you. I knew I could count on you not to say anything."

"NNNOOO! III SSAAAIIIDDD, WWHHHYYYY!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

"Oh, well. It's not my fault the man can't take a joke. If you hide a few firecrackers in the fish he's gutting, you'd think you're the devil himself." I won't even bother to ask him why he put a couple of fire crackers in a fish.

We walk for a few more minutes in silence (aside from Harvey whistling and Ishmael joining in every so often) when suddenly our guide stops walking and turns to face the Major and me.

"Okay chief, I ain't going any further but you should be able to find your way on your own." He pauses for a moment and looks toward the way we were going. "Okay what you want to do is keep going straight for about fifty paces and then make a right. And you want to stay to your left, not the right, the left. And whatever you do, don't go into the water. Land mines and all that." He gives us a crooked smile as he walks down another tunnel. "Don't worry; I know this place like the back of my hand." And that's when he hits his head on a pipe and promptly falls unconscious.

"Somehow, I don't have a good feeling about this." The Major says as he shakes his head.

"Don't you worry, Harvey might be a bit nutty but he's surprisingly reliable. If you ask me, I think it's just an act he puts on to get him under the radar. How else could he have survived Rapture's Civil War? But enough of that, your almost to the Fisheries, I'll be coming in through another entrance after you take care of Peach." Atlas's Irish accent fills my helmet's speakers. It's been a while since I've heard from him.

"We're all fine by the way, thanks for asking." I say sarcastically.

"Yes, all he is asking us to do is go after another mentally questionable individual lead by information from another mentally questionable individual, this is just perfect." Growls The Major.

"Don't you mean just peachy?" Atlas asks.

The Major looks confused, I just shrug it off and we continue onward. "Anyway, if you keep to the path you should be there in no time at all." Atlas cut the line once again and we walk in silence for an hour until we reach an office of some sort and we hear rustling inside, thinking it was one of the 'sane' inhabitants we both decide to check it out. The Major carefully opens the door.

Inside is one of the clearest rooms I've seen since we got here…well apart from the water dripping from the ceiling and the rather surprised looking Splicer dressed in a formal looking business suit with no jacket…or pants, his shirt once white was now bloodied and tattered his face looked like it recently gone through a meat grinder, it was poorly banged and he only had one arm.

He seem to get over the shock of us barging in and flips the desk over and pulls out a SMG and starts shooting and screaming at us as we quickly take cover on ether sides of the door frame. "I didn't mean to hurt her I didn't, I swear!" He kept saying over and over. The Major and I get bored and decide to end this quickly, so The Major primes a Plasma Grenade, takes aim in the direction of the desk and throws it. A split second later we hear, "Aaaaah, get it off, for the love of god, get it off!"

The room and the Splicer explode. We sweep the area and find that very little survived. "Nice toss." I say to The Major who just nods. "Your aim is improving." Says Conviction.

"Arr, it was all luck, you sad excuse for a sleuth." White Beard cuts in.

"At least I'm not stuck with Fruit Loops the Parrot!" Fires back Conviction. "I love waffles with lots of syrup and Monkeys!" Whistles Ishmael.

"At least my bird isn't a drooling mongrel with A.D.D!" I tune the rest of the argument out. I've heard of AI's developing odd personality's but those two are just too much. The Major also looks exasperated and walks ahead, I follow but then my eyes caught the sight of a painting of a man in a fishing boat and then my vision goes black for a moment.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_A man and young boy sat by a lake holding fishing rods, behind them is a little girl happily picking flowers and humming to herself._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Demon are you coming?" The Majors cuts through the fog in my head and in an instant it was gone. "Yes." Was all I could say, giving the painting one last look, I quickly catch up to him. He says something along the lines of, 'what took you' but I did not hear, nor did I respond for some unexplainable reason the vision I just saw in my mind was very fond to me. But every time I thought of it a single word comes to me for a reason beyond my understanding…'Nostalgia.'

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

Dear Readers,

I AM VERY, VERY, VERY SORRY! It wasn't my fault for the delay! First I had computer troubles and then my internet was shut off! I only just now got it back up.

On a brighter note, I have been writing since the Evil internet Shutdown and am proud to give you chapters up to Fort Frolic to read. I hope you enjoyed all we wrote and will forgive us for not posting for so long.

-KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

Hi,

Now that the mutual apologies are over, I'd like to bring up an advertisement. We have started to write a Halo/Dead Space Crossover that we are very proud of. It isn't posted quite yet but it should be up and running very soon.

Thank you for your patients,

Mortified Mind


	8. Fontaine's Fisheries

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Seven: Fontaine's Fisheries 

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

The Spartan and I walk in silence while following the odd human's instructions. Even the Constructs are surprisingly quiet (aside from the mentally challenged bird); everyone seems deep in thought, especially the Spartan.

I was always a skilled observer and I've put this talent to the test since being in this damned city. I've especially taken the time to observe the Spartan and I have come to the conclusion that he feels at home in this city (no matter how destroyed it is), though I also get the feeling that he doesn't even realize it. I've always found Humans strange, I probably always will.

When I was on the Ark, I spent quite a bit of time in Human company, mainly Pelican pilots. I remember re-supplying my Phantom with some of the Human pilots while the strike teams were assaulting the three Towers.

One of the pilots, a female they called Hocus, was supervising repairs to her Pelican while a few other pilots joked with each other. I remember finding it amazing that they could make jokes at a time like that. I found it absolutely ridiculous that they could laugh when all sentient life in the galaxy could possibly end in a few hours. That was until Hocus noticed my disgruntlement and explained a few things on Human behavior.

"Sometimes people joke around when they have trouble coping with a drastic situation, same thing with sarcasm. Kind of like a defense mechanism."

I found that odd behavior then and I still do but it seems that the Spartan falls victim to this…defense mechanism as well, for his sarcastic behavior has not been lost on me. I wonder if my Uncle had to deal with this, I wonder if my Uncle is still alive.

"Major, I believe I see the entrance of Fontaine's Fisheries." I look past the Spartan and see that he is indeed right. A strong metal door with a slot near the top stands at the end of the tunnel.

"It looks promising." I reply as I check the charge on my Energy Sword while keeping it strapped to my upper arm. The Spartan gestures for me to remain out of sight and I sink into the shadows as he knocks firmly on the door. I believe he is giving this Peach a chance to open the door peacefully before forcing his way in.

The slot on the top of the door slides open and I am at an angle where I can see that the man on the other side has a welding mask on. The man speaks in a stutter.

"You're that guy Atlas wanted me to let in, aren't you! Well, I'll tell you what I told Atlas, no deal." All of a sudden a blue energy field pops up mixed with a purple.

"Ah, damn it! No getting past that with a security key, the bastard must have built it himself using a U-Invent Machine. I didn't think the guy would do something like that. This is what I get for underestimating paranoids." Atlas says over the Spartan's speaker system just loud enough for me to hear.

That's when I hear a clatter of feet coming from above me. I look up and that's the first time I actually notice a gaping hole above our heads. Rose petals drift down onto us, I try to get the Spartan's attention but he is too busy thinking to pay attention to me. Peach on the other hand notices what the Spartan doesn't.

"What was that?" That's when we heard a female voice coming from above us.

"What crawls in my garden?" The Spartan looks into the hole and discreetly gestures for me to remain out of sight. I don't even bother to nod as he is not even looking in my direction. He un-holsters his shotgun and switches the rounds in it.

"Not Rosie again, I thought I got rid of her." Peach growls from inside of the shield.

"Days go by like wind." Rosie (apparently that's her name) says before jumping down from the hole in the ceiling. Her black blood matted hair is a mess and a tattered red dress (though it's hard to tell with all the blood she's soaked in) and an entire side of her face is bandaged.

"My friend, you are fucked." Peach says as he watches on in interest. I stare at the door utterly confused. I don't think it'd be a good idea for the Spartan to mate with that thing. Oh…wait Hocus explained to me that the word is usually used in a non-literal fashion. Humans are odd.

The Spartan doesn't even pause as he fires a shot into Rosie's torso. She screams and convulses as electricity runs through her entire body before she quickly recovers and back flips a few times when the Spartan tries to fire another shot at her.

This only served to anger the crazed Splicer.

"I WANT MY YOUTH BACK I WANT IT BACK NOW!" She Screams insanely and jumps on the ceiling.

The Spartan then began dodging what looked like meat hooks, odd weapon of choice but she threw them with such a speed and deadly aim I knew any normal human would have been dead by now. But this was no normal human, if half the things my Uncle said about him were true, then this was nothing more then an annoyance. The Spartan then fell to his knees he looked hurt as Rosie slowly crawled down the wall.

I couldn't believe my eyes this was the human that destroyed Halo, The Ark, Defeated any solider sent to kill him, helped my kind see through the Prophets lies and return The Covenant to it's former glory, a man my uncle regarded in private as a true warrior and under different circumstances, a man he could have call a friend but now as Rosie strutted towards her prey I began to doubt my uncle for the first time since I was a boy.

As I prepare an attack of my own I see it was all for not because the second Rosie was in range The Spartan sprang to his feet and fired the shotgun into her stomach with such force she hit's the support column in a satisfying thud. A nice trap and I know if he were here, my uncle would have hit the back of my head for doubting him. But just as The Spartan was about to deliver the final blow she sprints forward with such swiftness and agility that I think even The Spartan was stunned.

Just Then a Sentinel appeared and began attacking her, shrieking in pain and defeat Rosie leaped back into the hole in the ceiling she came from The Sentinel dutifully followed the sad, mad woman.

"Well done Demon" He turns to me and nods before holstering his shotgun.

Master Chief, Spartan 117________________________________________________________________

Turning my attention back towards Peach, I see that he is talking quietly to someone out of sight behind the door.

"Well, well, well, I see the walking arsenal hasn't gotten himself killed. I might be able to manage an invite into the Fisheries if you do a little job for me. Rosie is the boss of a gang that's sole purpose seems to be making my life miserable. If you off them, I'll let you in."

"Where are they?"

"One's held up in an interrogation booth the police were using after my guys blew up the Plaza. The rest hang out in Mc Donagh's Tavern." McDonagh owns a tavern? Refocusing my attention back to Peach, I accept his terms. The slot on the door slams shut and I look at the Major who hasn't moved from his spot in the shadows.

"Let's go, the sooner we get this done, the better." That's when the slot on the door slides open abruptly.

"Oh, and one more thing, if I smell an ounce of Fontaine on you, you're a dead man." He says in his usual stuttering voice before slamming the slot closed once again.

"Grown man jumping at ghosts, Fontaine's dead and everybody knows it. Been in the ground for months. You never mind all that." Atlas says through my communicator.

"Atlas, which way is the interrogation room?" I ask as I turn to walk back the way we came since there is no other way to go. The Major walks quietly behind me, apparently deep in his own thoughts.

"Keep walking until you get to a side tunnel and go down that one until you come to a ladder. I'll contact you once ya get there." He cuts the transmission and I allow my thoughts to wander as I follow his directions.

Peach seems as straight as a dog's hind legs. He'll undoubtedly wait until after I've done his dirty work to stick a knife in my back. I do wonder why he'd think I was working for Fontaine.

I'm shaken from my thoughts when my foot steps onto a bloated corpse. One of his hands is gripping an audio chip.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_"Chief of Police, Gilbert Sullivan,_

_"I just broke the news today to Alison. Emile's dead. He was a good officer, one of the best, but I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't seen this coming. He was arrogant, too arrogant._

_"Peach got to him, though to be fair Peach thought he was working for Fontaine. Then again, he thinks EVERYONE works for Fontaine. The way we interrogated Peach this morning, you could swear he was talking about the Devil himself._

_"Peach was talking like Fontaine didn't even exist, like he was some kind of ghost. It's safe to say, Peach Wilkins is insane."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I take the chip out and glance at the Major but apparently he just kept walking ahead of me with his head in the clouds. Dropping the chip, I take off after the Major but nearly run right into him when he stops abruptly not far from the ladder.

"What's that?" I frown and listen, only to hear heavy metal footsteps right above us.

"Mr. Bubbles."

"Pardon?"

"You'll see, but whatever you do don't hurt the little kid with him." He looks utterly confused as I quickly climb up the ladder. I push the cover off the top and look out.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I follow the Spartan up the ladder (with quite a bit of difficulty, my legs were not built for ladders) and wait for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

A loud roar breaks the silence of the warehouse like room. A foul stench reaches my nostrils as I see the creature in an odd environment suit. It's slightly bigger then a Lekgolo and looks a lot more menacing in my opinion.

"Mr. B!" A small male child squeals as he looks up at the creature. His eyes glow an eerie color and he is holding a hypodermic needle filled with a red substance. "By the Rings, Demon what are they?" The Spartan turns around and looks straight at me and says, "In one word…Slaves. Watch." He then points to the child again, I then witness a monstrousness sight, I've seen my Uncle disgraced in front of millions of Covenant, The Flood infect my comrades which I then had to 'purify'. I have been witness to some of the most violent and goriest events that war can offer, yet it strangely never effected me but this was dreadful. The child waves to his servant and slowly walks to a corpse, he looks from side to side then gets on his knees, takes the syringe and jabs it into the abdomen of a corpse. Then the boy says, "Don't worry Mr. Angel, it will be over soon." And starts humming.

I've never felt so disgusted in all my life I was about to ask The Spartan what the purpose was, when a pile of boxes filled with ice and frozen fish fell onto the floor and a VERY angry Mr. B.

Then that's when, as the humans were so fond of saying, 'All Hell broke loose'. Splicers started to stream out of every hole and box within sight. The Splicers seemed oblivious to us so we decide to move behind them in a flanking position.

There must have been ten or so, most in dock worker uniforms, the rest in law enforcer uniforms, then a female human with a scar covered face in a light blue garment, and a Plasma Grenade case (Now were did she get that?) jumps onto a box. I decide that this was their leader as she began issuing orders, "Ha, we tricked you monster." This brought an immediate response from Mr. B who started shooting his huge cannon like weapon at random into the crowd of Splicers, killing many in the process.

Some of The Splicers began to back down, one of which tried to make it to the door and was cut down by their leader. "Don't you disrespect me; take down that lumbering monster, NOW!" Rallying around their leader once again with the threat of death at the hands of Mr. B or her, they attack him once again. All the while, The Spartan and I made it to the other side of the battle field, before I can ask what we should do, soft crying reached my ears. Looking to my right I see the child cowering in a cylinder drum.

"Demon." Getting his attention, I point to the frightened boy. He walks over, then takes the small boy from the drum and much to my surprise, the child tries to fight him off. Unabated The Spartan whispers something too low for me to hear, the boy then stops struggling and The Spartan's hands began to glow a blinding white.

When my eyes regain focus, I'm again surprised to see the child spiting into a glass container. The child then smiles and then, much too both our discomfort, hugs us. "Oh thank you, thank you so much" He kept saying, well that was until we noticed the carnage Mr. B had inflicted on The Splicer army. Said creature was now holding the leader under his gigantic boot and was about to smash her into the ground but midway he saw his charge and the two of us. "Ah, crap" Was all the Spartan could say.

Roaring in unbelievable anger, Mr. B grabs the Splicer leader and throws her and the Plasma grenade case still clutched in her hands at us. "How dare you!" Were her last words before she hit the pile of boxes to our left and exploded. "Good thing Mr. B has a bad arm" The Spartan says taking a look out from our cover, he was indeed in bad shape, Mr. B's suit was charred , blackened and dripping green foul smelling ooze.

"How do you want to attack this beast?" At that very moment The Big Daddy rampaged forward. "Very carefully." He said quickly grabbing the child and rolling to the side. I on the other hand stand my ground and waited at the last second. It stopped its charge, lifted his weapon, leveled it at me and that's the moment I chose to throw one of my few remaining Plasma Grenades, aiming carefully. I let it go; the grenade flew smoothly through the air and hit the cannon's barrel.

Too shocked to react in time, he just looked dumbly at the bright blue object. A moment later, it had the desired effect and blew the cannon and all of Mr. B with it. The Spartan walks up to me with the boy in his arms who looked slightly sadden at the sight. "Oh poor Mr. B." He says stifling a sniffle The Spartan then puts the boy on the ground, moves some of his yellow hair from his face and looks strait in his now brown eyes and said forcefully but not unkindly, "Go back to Dr. Tenenbaum's and STAY there."

The boy smiles one last time, moves a drum up to a shaft of some sort and disappears out of sight. I then notice The Spartan's gaze linger on the Porthole for a moment, then continued, "I never would have thought I would live to see this day." The Spartan faces me and says, "And what day is that?" I walk forward again and reply laughing over my shoulder, "The day I see The Demon that The Covenant both feared and hated turn soft as a mother caring for her children."

Master Chief, Spartan 117________________________________________________________________

"Basterd." Without missing a beat he replies, "Devil." Then Conviction came on the line, "Now, now children lets be nice, you're coming up on the interrogation cell." And Ishmael, not wanting to be left out of the conversation, "Johnny's needs a new family and waffles with lots of syrup." It whistles twice after his statement. "Arr that's it!" The next thing I hear is a loud squawking sound, "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, I hate to be the bad guy but you have to learn, damn it!" Then I hear White Beard scream, "Damn your eyes, you lobotomized fowl!"

"Too late" Ishmael whistles. I catch up to the Major easily and we walk in silence for a few moments. Until a question occurs to me.

"How much do you know about Humanity?"

"My father was once in Intelligence before he was transferred. He was one of the many Sangheili who studied humans before we attacked."

"Okay…you haven't answered my question."

"I know what my father has told me and what I have seen talking to Pelican pilots and watching your kind interact." More silence follows before the Major speaks, "You know it's rather odd." Giving me a side-wards glance.

"What?"

"You're taking working with someone, who up to a few cycles ago, would have tried to kill you."

"I've learned to trust when I have too, besides I don't have much choice. The other Spartan's are dead and the Arbiter isn't here."

"No, he's not." A pause, "Did you trust him."

"About as far as I could throw him…at first. But he didn't turn out to be so bad. I hope he made it back to Earth."

"So do I" Another pause, "You know, he spoke quite highly of you towards the end." I tilt my head to the side inquisitively.

"Why do you think he had me take him to High Charity to look for you? I thought it was madness but he talked me into it. Said he could handle himself and had me leave the moment I dropped him off."

"Okay, but how did you end up in the Forward Unto Dawn's wreckage?"

"On my way back to The Shadow of Intent after dropping the Arbiter off, I picked up a few stragglers of my kind. Unfortunately we didn't make it onto Shadow of Intent. The Sergeant Major Johnson was kind enough to allow me to dock in Forward Unto Dawn's hanger."

"What if the Arbiter didn't make it back to Earth?"

"Well if he didn't, then he's in this hellhole somewhere."

"And if he did make it back to Earth?"

"Then, I could imagine that he went home, like he had mentioned he'd like to do."

"What do you think will happen between our species? After all, scars of war are slow to heal, if at all."

"Then I think an imaginary line will be drawn in the galaxy. You stay on your side and we'll stay on ours. No one crosses the line. Though I think eventually both races could live in peace and become friends."

"Like you and the Arbiter?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a friendship. More of a mutual respect for one another."

"Hmmm." A long silence follows. I wonder why he suddenly wants to talk so much…or me for that matter. The silence continues until I notice that we have arrived at the Interrogation room. The door is open but hanging off of its hinges and a simple push by the Major just knocked it over. We pause when he hear singing coming from inside.

"Jesus loves me this I know, because the Bible tells me so." We cautiously look into the room to find it's rather small and computer parts are scattered everywhere and weapon parts lying on the floor. The Splicer is sitting inside the interrogation room, he's in the corner and rocking back and forth as he continues to sing. I completely step into the room and dig through the stuff.

"Demon, what are you doing? He can probably see you."

"No he can't. It's a one way mirror; all he can see is his reflection. Used in every standard interrogation booth since the 20th century." The Major steps into the room and looks closely at the window. His face is up close to it when the Splicer inside starts sniffing the air.

That's when it sprang up and jumped at the glass, completely smashing it and grabbing the Major. Catching the Major completely off guard, the Splicer pins him to the ground. Raising one of his hooks, he was about to strike down at the Major's head.

That's when I give it a swift kick to the chest and I hear a satisfying crunch of bones. The Splicer back flips and is about to lunge for another attack when his spine gives out on him. He collapses and is apparently paralyzed from the chest down.

The Major growls and gets up while grabbing his Carbine. With the Splicer still swinging his arms, the Major puts his hoof on the thing's chest, earning a gurgling sound from the damn thing, and fires several rounds into its head.

He's breathing really hard when he turns to face me. I look right back at him as he holsters his Carbine. "You saved my life." He doesn't sound grateful.

"Well, yes. What's the problem?"

"The problem, Demon is that, I don't like you."

"And here I thought we had something special. Why'd you lead me on like that?" I say sarcastically. Though my response seems to have flown right over his head because he isn't paying attention.

"I hate you and now I owe you. Twice. Damn it, why couldn't you just let me die!"

"I'll keep that in mind next time you're pinned down by a Splicer." After taking a deep breath, the Major seems to have calmed down. After a moment of silence, I look over at the dead Splicer's body and realize I still have to go after his friends.

"So, what do you think? Pub?" He looks at me, nods, and turns to walk out the door we came in from.

"Hey, how's the bounty hunting going?" Atlas says through my communications device.

"Fine but where's the bar?"

"Direct, aren't we? But for your information, you'll have to go back into the irrigation tunnels. One of them leads to the basement of McDonagh's pub." I nod and head back the way we came. As we're walking I come to a startling revelation. Suddenly, I feel quite a bit happier.

**-END OF CHAPTER SEVEN-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes: 

Dear Readers,

I know there was something I wanted to say…

Oh well.

-KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

Um,

I wanted to apologize for the AI's. They were my idea. They weren't originally supposed to be in the story.

-Mortified Mind


	9. Fighting McDonagh's Tavern

Halo: Rapture 

Chapter Eight: Fighting McDonagh's Tavern.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I look over at the Spartan as we're walking through the irrigation tunnels. He seems…..happy. He's been like this for a while, ever since we left the interrogation office, and it's starting to worry me.

"What has you in such a fine mood, Demon?" I can't help but to ask.

"It's just nice to be in a place where you're the normal one. It's a wonderful change." I look at the Spartan mildly surprised before thinking what he said through. I suppose it makes sense…in a twisted sort of way.

Master Chief, Spartan 117________________________________________________________________

After my answer to the Major's question the silence continues, except for Atlas's occasional directions. There's a long pause before the Major speaks once again.

"Let's talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." I reply shortly after.

"Yes, and I have nothing to say to you but this boredom is getting to me."

"Fine. What do you want to talk about?" I look over at him curiously as he thinks of something to say.

"Why did you go to the first Halo?"

"To tell you the truth, that was completely coincidental. We made a blind Slipspace jump."

"You're joking; we went crazy trying to figure out where your intelligence was coming from. Several Sangheili were killed because they were thought to be traitors."

"May I ask you a question?" I ask instead of replying.

"Could I stop you?"

"I get the feeling that you don't like me. I could normally care less but you seem to hate me more then normal."

"You cost me a promotion, among other things."

"When?" Surprised I pause in my steps for a moment before walking again.

"During your infiltration of the Silent Cartographer. You knocked me out near the entrance while I was trying to fix that damn computer."

"That was you?"

"I still have the scare." He rubs the back of his neck. "And then there was that time you stole my Banshee on the Truth and Reconciliation, shortly before my Uncle told us to retreat and regroup. Next thing we know the entire Ring blows up and my Uncle is disgraced and sentenced to death."

"Then your Uncle was…" I had no idea. Though I probably should have known.

"Yes Demon, he became the Arbiter after you destroyed the first Halo." A very long silence follows before I speak once again.

"You know technically because of my actions on Halo, your kind found out about the Prophets lies."

"And that's what truly gnaws at me, a suffering wound in my mind that won't heal. I owe you, and I hate you so very much for it." I choose not to reply in part because I have no idea what to say to that but also because I notice we have arrived at the ladder Atlas told us about. "All right boys onward and upward."

The Major looked at the ladder with dread on his face, "Marvelous."

"I could give you a boost." I say trying to be helpful, though it came out sounding patronizing. The Major just gives me a look that speaks volumes as he grabs the nearest rung of the ladder and begins a slow descent up. I let the Elite take his time and I don't offer any more help.

I hear the Major opening the hatch and a ton of water flowing into the tunnel follows. Because I am standing to just the side of the hatch, I am completely dry. The Major on the other hand…I hear him yelling and sputtering words in his own language, probably swearing from the sound of it.

"What's wrong?" I dodge out of the way when the Major takes a potshot at me with his Carbine.

"Hey!" I hear him chuckle as he climbs out of the tunnel and I quickly climb up the ladder and into the room.

It's a wine cellar by the looks of it….a flooded wine cellar. Looking at the water, I'm suddenly quite aware that I haven't drunken or eaten anything in a while. The Major seems to be thinking along the same lines. He walks over to one of the few tables that is still standing and picks up a wine bottle. I'm about to warn him when he downs the entire thing. He coughs and puts a hand to his chest.

"What was that?" He asks as he clicks his mandibles.

"Alcohol."

"It's terrible." He reaches for another bottle.

"You shouldn't drink too much of it…" I brake off my words as he downs the entire thing.

"I think you should stop." I have this bad feeling that he can't hold his liquor. I remember a time a long time ago when I had to sober up Johnson after a birthday party. I don't think I did a good job.

"You should stop." I say as I take a step towards him.

"No, I like him better this way." White Beard says as he appears on a damaged holo-pad, his image is flickering but I can see that he has a beer stein in his hand.

"I REALLY think you should stop now." I say as I grab another wine bottle from his hand. He sways in his spot and tries to grab for the bottle. I snatch it away from him and he lunges forward to try and get the bottle back but ends up on the floor passed out.

"Wow, what a lush. Two or three bottles and he's out." White beard says as he examines the unconscious body. I sigh and move him to a more covered position. Splicers shouldn't hurt him if they think he's dead. Locating the stairs, I immediately walk towards them without a backwards glance at my knocked out companion.

"You're just going to leave him here?" Conviction says as I put my foot on the first step.

"It's for the best. White Beard could you watch after him and make sure he doesn't swallow his tongue. I'll be back for him after I deal with Peach's friends." I pause and add as an after thought, "If he wakes up before I'm back, make sure he doesn't drink any more." I see White Beard salute me just as he disappears from sight. But just before I get to the door Ishmael and White Beard start singing drinking songs.

"And to think I could have missed all this fun by dying peacefully in cryo stasis on The Dawn" I say to myself. Opening the door just a crack to peek inside, I see a Splicer with a grenade case and a Sentinel body guard. The Splicer himself was dressed in overalls covered in fish guts. "That's one of Peach's men; I guess we're not the first to venture in here, like Daniel into the Lions den." Spoke Conviction.

Grunting a reply and before Conviction or myself could come up with a plan, one of Rosie's goon's drops from the ceiling and try to grab the man but came up short, alerting the Splicer and his body guard. "You'll never take me alive you psychotic Spliced up bitch! Get her you flying hunk of junk!" He screams.

The Sentinel goes right to work and shoots off a hundred rounds; they all miss the Spider Splicer. Cursing the Splicer in the overalls, he takes a grenade from the case and primes it. He is about to throw it when the Spider Splicer throws something of its own, a meat hook, sails through the air and strikes the grenade. Yelping in pain or in terror he jumps from behind his cover (the bar desk) just as it explodes and right into the Spider Splicer.

"I'll wrap you in a sheet, sweetie." It hisses while pinning him to the ground, I chose that moment to toss one of my grenades. "Two birds with one stone?" Asked Conviction, nodding I fling the door open wide and throw it. To my amazement, the two Splicers don't notice a thing until it was too late. The stun grenade was close enough to kill the both of them and it did. But to be on the safe side I take my pistol out and put one shot into their heads.

"Better get your shotgun out Chief, I think the natives are rounding up a posse." Conviction's words proved prophetic, three more Splicers come out of the woodwork like cockroaches carrying guns this time.

"Thanks Sheriff." Pumping the shotgun, I take aim at the closest Splicer when a grenade drops at my feet. "Take that you monster!" A Splicer yells from up above, thinking fast I roll to my immediate right, taking cover behind some tables. I wait for the blast…but it didn't happen, "Damn it, a dud!" The Splicer curses just before I jump up and summon my Electro Bolt, shocking him to the ground, onto one of his buddies.

"Damn it, useless every single one of you!" The Splicer on the left side of the corridor says, then starts shooting at me, followed by her compatriot. "I want you're blood!" The Splicer under his still shocked friend screams.

One of the Splicers jump at me but (to my surprise) is shot through the head. A sniper? Where? Just as my eyes move to scan the high ground I hear a familiar voice.

"In the immortal words of Crazy Horse, 'Hoka hey', it is a good time to die!" The shocked Splicer is shot by very precise fire. I should have known.

"What was the big idea leaving me there unconscious?! I could have gotten attacked or worse!" The other Splicers are too stunned to move.

"Harvey! Splicers!"

"Oh right!" I hear him say from his unknown hiding place. Taking this opportunity I'm about to get a drop on one of the Splicers but I hear Harvey's voice again. "No, don't move. I might accidentally hit you. I have this thing about moving targets."

"You better do as he says; I've pulled up his file. And…damn." Conviction says in an amazed and cautious voice. Doing as I'm told I stay glued to my spot while Harvey dispatches the remaining Splicers. I look around to see if I can get any glimpses of Harvey but it's as if he isn't there.

"Don't worry; I probably would've done the same thing!" I spin around to find Harvey crouched beside me with a SRS 99D AM Sniper Rifle.

"Have you been there the entire time? And what are you talking about?"

"Yes to the first. And leaving me unconscious to the second." He says as he stands up and looks around at the carnage with disinterest.

"Alright, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted a drink." He walks over to some fallen scotch bottles. He suddenly screams and I spin quickly to look at him. He's kneeling over some broken scotch bottles. "Oh it's awful! 12 years old, both of them. They were too young to be taken away from me! They will pay for this." He seems genuinely sad for all of two minutes before he finds an unopened vodka bottle. "I have to come back here everyday because Dr. Tenenbaum won't let me bring alcohol to the hide out. Said something about the kids getting into them. It's absolutely ridiculous, I've been drinking since I was fourteen and I turned out fine." I wisely keep my mouth shut; after all he still has his Sniper Rifle. "Hey where's your 'not that way' companion?"

"He can't hold his liquor as well as you can."

"He should be careful. You have to build up a tolerance before you start chugging like a fish."

"He only drank two bottles of wine."

"WHAT! Man, what a sissy." I decide to change the subject.

"Where did you learn to use the Sniper Rifle like that?"

"The UNSC. I'm ex-ONI."

"…You're joking." I refuse to believe that.

"I'll have you know I was a Lieutenant before I was discharged."

"Why were you discharged?" I'm almost afraid to ask.

"Those guys were just too up tight. That and I'm about as subtle as Ishmael on sodium pentothal. Oh, and I may have accidentally killed my commanding officer."

"YOU WHAT!"

"It was an accident!"

"Oh, why don't you tell 'em the truth. You did it on a bet!" Atlas says through my helmet speakers.

"Hey, he shouldn't have been making fun of my aiming skills!"

"I think your aim just fine." I say looking at the Splicer corpses.

"Oh, he aims at living breathing targets just fine. It's the inanimate ones he can't shoot at. He was the worst person on the Shooting Range. So one day his CO (in his infinite wisdom) bets him that he can't shoot him in the head. Obviously Harvey here won the bet. And that's why he's here."

"It isn't a disgrace! You're looking at the Social Chairman of Rapture."

"I almost forgot about that." Conviction muttered.

"First day on the job he makes Andrew Ryan's Black List." Atlas says trying to control his laughter at the memory. I can't help but notice that there is something…off about Atlas's laughter. I don't know what it is.

"Where did you get the Rifle?"

"Arcadia. There's a whole pile of this crap just floating down at the Desalinization Plant."

"How did you get from the irrigation tunnels to Arcadia and back again in such a short amount of time?"

"The Staff tunnels." He says simply as he picks up a candy bar from the ground. Shrugging he takes a bite and picks a second one up and tosses one to me. It occurs to me once again that I am hungry so I take off my helmet and set it on the bar counter.

"Wow, I thought you'd be completely disfigured under that thing. You know like Darth Vader." I give him a completely confused look as I take a bite of the candy bar. Too sugary but I'm too hungry to care.

"He speaks of a fictional character created in the late 20th century." Conviction chimes in trying to dispel my confusion. He throws me another candy bar and we continue to eat in silence I notice he's giving me a penetrating stare.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"No Harvey, I think I would remember meeting you prior to our encounter here." No way could I forget someone like him.

"Hmm. Maybe you just remind me of someone else." I choose not to reply and finish the candy bar. When Harvey finishes his chocolate he wipes his hand on his pants and looks at me. An idea suddenly comes to my mind but I'm loath to ask him for anything.

"Could I ask a favor?"

"Depends."

"The alien needs sobering up before I head back into the direction of Fontaine's Fisheries." He nods and looks around the room.

"So where is ET?"

"In the basement, White Beard is looking after him."

"Alright, maybe I'll find food down there while I'm at it." He salutes me (for some reason I find this ironic) and he walks towards the basement. Now to find the last two Splicers on my Hit List.

My eyes catch sight of a set of stairs and decide it's as good as place as any to start. Caution is my best option so I carefully take my time up the stairs, not making a sound. I reach the top making a sweep of the immediate area and find that it's a boarding level poorly lit yet very well maintained. "Who would want to stay above a noisy bar?" I ask to myself. I stop for the moment to listen for any sound. Nothing quiet as a tomb.

"People with very poor self control." Conviction affirms.

"Are you picking up anything Conviction?" I ask noting the three doors along the corridor.

"No…but doesn't mean that they aren't here."

Nodding, I make my way to the door on the left hand side. Resisting the urge to kick the door in, I grab the knob and turn it slowly. The door suddenly flies open with an explosive force, throwing me off balance long enough for another one of Rosie's Splicers to climb on my back place both hands around my head try to take off my helmet. "Your head will look good with my drapes, handsome" The Spider Splicer hisses.

Rather then try to throw her off, I body slam her to the floor. My half ton of armor proved too much for the lithe Splicer as I heard a solid 'SPLAT'. I get up and feel my back only to find it sleek with blood and god knows what else; all I could do was groan.

"When we get out of here Conviction, remind me to get a hose."

"I'll make a note of that." He replied, I heard him flip through his note book and mumble to himself.

"Men found us beautiful once upon a time but days go by like wind and one day the gentlemen stop calling." A Splicer says at the far end of the hall before she shrieks and leaps at me with incredible speed, raising my shotgun just in time to have it snatched from my grasp by another Splicer, this one in a security uniform. It was thickly coated in blood, the man's face looks like he went several rounds with a Brute Chieftain…and lost, but his grip nearly matched my own. Nearly struggling for the weapon we suddenly lose our balance and topple over the railing to the bar below.

We crash to the ground hard still fighting for the shotgun. I thought the fall would knock some of the fight out of him but I was dead wrong, it only enraged him further. Yelling at the top of his lungs he suddenly lets go and swings his right fist right into my visor, fracturing it slightly and breaking his knuckles in the process. That didn't stop him in the slightest as he brought his left hand, which I now notice has a knife firmly clenched in it, to my exposed arm. Dropping the shotgun completely, I grab the Splicer's arm and break it off. In his pain, he lets go of the knife, I quickly snatch it out of the air and ram it through his chest, impaling him.

"That was a bit much" Conviction states sickened at the gruesome sight.

Before I could retort the Spider Splicer I left up on the second floor literally drops in on me. "Hi, there handsome. I've misssssed you!" She hisses in a shrill like voice then licks my face plate. And before I know it, she snakes her whole body around me and unlike her comrade is successful in removing my helmet. "Love your eyes. Can I have them?" She asks politely. I butt my head into hers in response, making her back flip behind some tables and chairs. "THAT will cost your hair too you bastard!" She shrieks.

Recovering my fallen helmet and placing it back on my head in time to dodge another blow from a meat hook sailing inches past my head. Taking the fallen shotgun from the ground, I wait for the right moment to shoot but then I notice she's gone again. "Looking for me, dear heart!" Bringing my head upwards towards the sound, I see her on the ceiling leering at me. She springs at me just as I fire a quick shot into her sternum, she absorbs the Electro Buck easily fighting the shocking sensation.

"Ohh YES! You certainly know how to get a girl going don't you darling!"

She then grabs hold and pushes down on me with her legs, raises her hooked hands and is about to swipe at me with them when she shrikes in pain and falls dead on top of me. Tossing her off to the side I see deep plasma burns in her back. Looking past the dead Splicer, I see The Major standing there looking VERY ill indeed.

"Feeling better are we?" I can't help but tease him a little.

He just looks at me dumbly and replies. "I will not answer your query until you stop yelling at me. Uuuugh my head."

"Where's Harvey?" I hope he left.

"I was woken up by those constructs and that cretin singing a song about….never mind. I told him to leave before I put a round through his head, after he made me drink this horrible black liquid."

"Coffee?"

"It doesn't matter; I'm never drinking or eating ANY human made products again."

"Not all of them are that bad." I try to sound helpful because I realize he's going to have to eat something eventually and I don't think they have any of his native foods here. He gives me a disbelieving look before turning and walking away.

"Come on; let's get back to the Fisheries. I don't want to spend another second in this place.

**-END OF CHAPTER EIGHT-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

Comments? Criticism? Question?

-KTHM


	10. Jumping At Ghosts

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Nine: You Can't Spell Funeral Without Fun

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I hide in the shadows as I watch the Spartan bang against the heavy metal door that guards Peach's hideout. He waits a few moments before banging on it again. After a few seconds Peach finally slides the slot back on the door.

"So the wharf rat hasn't gotten himself killed. Did you get them all?" His voice is mock curious as if he knows the answer already.

"Is Rosie still around?"

"Yes I am sweet heart." A female voice from the hole in the ceiling drifts down to us, accompanied by rose petals. The she-devil is back again. The Spartan casually un-holsters his shotgun and turns to face her. She seems to have mostly recovered from their last little battle.

"Come and fight me like a man you bastard!" With a howl of insanity she takes two light steps and lunges at him only too be thrown back against the wall. "As you wish." The Spartan replies stoically pumping another shell into his weapon, Rosie soon recovers and jumps to the ceiling, just out of range "Why do we have to play hard to get?" She laughs insanely.

"Sorry, but I need my space and besides your showing an ugly side….then again it's hard to tell with you."

If the Spartan's purpose was to enrage her it worked. Rosie's hands suddenly are ablaze and she throws several flaming projectiles at him, causing The Spartan to take cover, but he didn't get very far. Rosie leaps from the ceiling, right onto him. "Unclean, unclean!" She shrieks at the top of her lungs, and then she digs her fiery hooks into his exposed flesh. The pain must be horrific but not enough to drop his shotgun.

He blindly fires it at one of her legs, blowing it off completely. Amazingly Rosie doesn't let go, just howls in pain, digging further inside his flesh. The Spartan then reaches for the hooks and, much to my amazement, rips them out. He then takes Rosie by the neck, places the shotgun to her chest and fires an Exploding Buck shot sending her flying back in flaming glory to the hole she came out from. The Spartan in all his complexity just looks at his arm and mutters.

"This is going to take awhile to heal."

The Spartan holsters his shotgun and turns back to Peach who had been watching the battle with interest. Peach looks right back until he realizes what the Spartan is waiting for.

"Wait here, I'll put on some coffee and set out some silver-ware and the like. Just you wait here and don't make a move." He slammed the slot shut and we wait for a couple of minutes before the defenses on the door are deactivated.

The Spartan walks in and I take a chance and activate my cloaking device, hoping that it'll activate. It seems providence is with me because it flickers like a dying light for a moment before activating and holding. I move swiftly and manage to get through the door just as it closes behind me. The Spartan had detected the slight disturbance in the air and nods in my direction.

"No one comes into my place carrying the 'heat'. Put your weapons in the Pneumo." Peach says over a speaker system. The man himself is nowhere to be seen.

"Do as he says but a word to the wise, Peach is about as straight as a dog's hind legs. You could probably throw him farther then you should trust 'em." A pause before he continues, "At the very least he can't take your Plasmids away, now can he?" Atlas says through his speakers.

I look around to see we are in, what seems to be an anteroom. To our left is a reddish colored machine with the words, 'Gatherer's Garden', inscribed on the front with two statues of children standing next to it. To our right is another machine that looks Forerunnerish and is considerably larger then the first machine with a cryostasis like bed attached to it. The machine has the words, 'Tonic Station', on it.

I watch as the Spartan walks up to the Gatherer's Garden and pulls a list up on the display screen as he pulls out the vial of liquid he received from the Little Sibling. He inserts the vial into a slot on the machine and looks through the different options on the screen.

"Good idea. More Plasmids and Tonics couldn't hurt." Atlas comments before cutting the transition once again. I find it very disconcerting that he has the ability to watch what we're doing no matter what. The man must be holding up in some sort of security room somewhere.

I see the Spartan tilt his head to the side in thought, looking over his shoulder, I see him select an option that says, Incinerate. He doesn't appear to be done as he scrolls down looking at other options. He pauses as he selects an option that says, Medical Expert. Apparently it accelerates his healing process. Last, he selects an upgrade for the Electro Bolt.

After he is done, the vial he had inserted into the machine reappears, considerably more empty. He pockets it just as two syringes filled with an odd fluid and another vial drop out of another slot towards the bottom of the machine.

The Spartan pockets the second vial and picks up the syringes and sits down on the ground. Next, he unceremoniously injects them, one after the other. His body convulses but it looks like he's trying to resist it. Next, wild blue electricity makes an appearance on his exposed hand right before hot flames dances around his finger tips. Fire and lightning. Useful gifts.

When he's done riding out the changes to his DNA he looks in my general direction before looking around in search for cameras. Spotting them, he gestures for me to move out of its sight. Curious, I do as I am 'told' and get out of their line of sight.

The Spartan puts a hand on my shoulder and blue sparks shoot onto my armor in an odd way and seem to recharge my Active Camouflage. He then nods towards the machine on our right and walks over to it. I watch as he gets into the capsule after he injects the vial he had received from the Gatherer's Garden.

It's a full ten minutes before he reemerges from the pod. He looks towards the door that is straight ahead from the one we had come in from. The Spartan walks over to the door and bangs on it as I give a more detailed scan of the room. I spot a large vent near the ceiling, large enough for me to crawl through.

Not bothering to alert the Spartan of my intentions, I walk over to it and pry the grill off just as he is admitted into the room beyond. I smell an ambush so it would be fitting to ambush them back. That is, if this vent leads to somewhere useful.

After a short but very uncomfortable crawl through the very cold vent, I come to a catwalk like bridge suspended high up in an ice cold room. Far below me I can see several metal doors, a stairway leading down, and frozen water gathered in corners. It was that cold, I don't like the cold.

Those weren't the only things I see; the Spartan was in battle against, what are probably, Peach's men. They are throwing flaming torches. They are all wearing suits designed to be used around extreme heat, they probably keep them warm in this cold environment as well.

I un-holster my Carbine and look into its sights. Taking aim, I deliver a well placed shot into one of the Splicer's head. I may be a pilot but I was known to be an excellent marksman by my people.

I watch as the Spartan snaps his fingers and one of the Splicers bursts into flames. Interesting. I put a shot into one of the SMG wielding ones trying to sneak up on the Spartan. "Damn, it's one of Atlas's thugs. Find him!" The Splicers turn their attention from the Spartan to me, that's when I notice my cloaking device is out. "Wonderful." Was all I could say as the catwalk I was on suddenly gets bombarded with torches and gun fire.

"Why do I keep helping him…Oh, right…bastard." I muter to myself. As I am crouched on the catwalk with my hands on my head trying to minimize the wonderful target I make, I see the Spartan focus his attention on one Splicer in particular. It's most likely Peach but I can't make it out from my currant position of trying not to get torched.

Getting tired of being shot at, I unhook one of my last Plasma Grenades and toss it perfectly onto one of the Splicer's head. Everyone (including the Spartan and Peach) stare at the active grenade. Down on the ground I see the Spartan stare at a group of barrels near the tagged Splicer, he then looks at a puddle of strange colored fluid on the ground that covers nearly the entire floor. The Spartan turns and runs just as the grenade explodes and it is at that moment that I realize that the fluid is highly flammable.

The grenade itself takes out a large group of Peach's men but unfortunately it also ignites the group of barrels that hold the flammable substance causing them to explode. Next the puddle on the ground erupts into scorching flames burning more people (I believe they're the last). But I don't notice the last part, I don't notice it because when the barrels exploded, part of the catwalk became damaged and tipped over with me on it.

I would have fallen into the inferno below if my foot hadn't got caught on a frozen pipe (which burst) and flung me away from my original trajectory. I roll when my body hit's the ground to minimize any damage I might take. I look up to see Peach in front of me backing up to the center of the room.

That's when the Spartan jumps out from a group of boxes (filled with dead fish) that he had taken cover behind. He trains his shotgun on Peach and I level my Carbine at him. The crazed man looks left to right and notices that there is no where to go.

"Show us how to get to the Smuggler's Hideout." Peach is facing the fire and staring into space and begins to talk as if to himself.

"The two of you are as human as that fuck Fontaine! You're following the words of a ghost! Do you realize it? No only I do. I've been stuck in this godforsaken city for so long; I've been running around in circles. No way out! Except one, I'll see you in hell! I'll have the devil save you a spot." He stutters the last part as he rips his coat off and I see things what are most likely explosive devices strapped to his chest.

"C-12?! Are you crazy??!" Not a good choice of words Demon, Peach triggers the detonator before either of us can do anything.

"Aw, f…." Those are the last words I hear from the Spartan as my world goes dark.

Master Chief, Spartan 117________________________________________________________________

I open my eyes and push myself off of the ground. The explosion did quite a bit of damage, a wall of rubble is now standing where Peach once was. Separating the Major and myself. This…could pose a problem.

"I blame this on you." I say loud enough that the Major could hear me on the other side. I hope he's awake.

"How is THIS my fault?" He's awake.

"You threw the grenade."

"The grenade is not the reason why this maniac tried to kill himself!"

"He didn't TRY anything."

"Children, children. Atlas is trying to say something." Conviction says through our helmets speakers.

"Thank you. Chief, you need to take the high road to the Smuggler's hideout and your-" Atlas is suddenly cut out by a very energetic Ishmael.

"Johnny's faithful companion!" He whistles.

"…Needs to head to Arcadia where we'll meet up with him in Rolling Hills."

"Where they have Blueberry Waffles!"

"Shut up you stupid fowl!" White Beard says and we hear a sound of struggle and a parrot squawking over the comm. line.

"White Beard, how'd you get into the security system?"

"What security system? The blast took out most of Peach's network." Conviction says, because obviously he'd know.

"This place lit up like a whore house at-"

"THANK you White Beard. I think they get it." Atlas says quickly cutting him off.

"Anyway, you better get a move on before more Splicers show up." I'm about to ask how I'm supposed to take the high road when I see a large hole in the ceiling. That's probably my best bet.

I climb up the rock wall and push myself through the hole and onto the floor above. I'm in a storage room, or at least it looks like a storage room, there are boxes everywhere. I make my way around the boxes and to the only door. Pulling it open I'm amazed to see a three compartment train sitting on some tracks.

"This is the Smuggler's Train Station; it leads right to the Ship Dock." White Beard says through my comm. system.

"How do you know?" Atlas says with a confused tone of voice.

"I was Peach's AI before he went nuts. Towards the end he really started not to trust me for the sole reason that I was an AI."

I find the control panel for the train and open the door to admit me entrance. That's when something occurs to me and the idea is out my mouth before I know what I'm saying.

"Atlas, what did Peach mean about ghosts?"

"Nothing." The doors slam shut behind me.

**-END OF CHAPTER NINE-**

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Author's Notes:

Howdy Everyone!

Sorry for the pause between posting chapter nine and eight but I was too busy to check it over until now. So anyway the rest should be posted soon and I am trying to complete the Hephaestus intro chapter. Not only that but I am also trying to write a Halo/Dead Space story so look for that soon as well.

I love comments and criticism so if you have anything to say, say it.

-KTHM

P.S. My partner in crime (Mortified Mind) isn't here right now. Lazy bastard is sleeping. So if he has anything to say he'll say it later.


	11. The Smuggler's Hideout

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Ten: The Smuggler's Hide Out

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

The train is slow moving but according to White Beard it shouldn't take too long to get to the Smuggler's Hideout. I try to tune out Ishmael's inane babbling as I search through some of the boxes and crates to see if there is anything useful. So far I've found a half empty grenade case.

"So what exactly do your little pets do anyway?" I ask hoping one of the AI's would answer.

"Aside from prolonging our lives, they are also our firewalls (so to speak), and as you saw yourself they can also act as messengers." Conviction says in a voice loud enough so it can be heard over Ishmael and White Beard.

"So if it weren't for your pets, you'd probably be Rampant or not functioning."

"Yes, I was installed into Rapture from beginning as you might imagine I'm quite old…for an A.I. anyway" I'm about to say something else as I move a crate out of he way but I catch myself staring directly into the lens of a Camera Drone. We all freeze.

"Uh, oh." Everyone, including Atlas and Ishmael, say.

"Hold on, Ryan now knows where we are." Conviction says with a touch of dread coloring his voice. I smash the lens of the Drone and take it apart. The train jerks and the speakers crackle.

"You ooze in like an assassin then sneak out like a thief. You're no ONI spook, who are you?!" There is a short pause before continuing. "There are two ways to solve a mystery, exploit it or eliminate it." He cuts off the transmission and the train starts gaining speed.

"I hate to point out the obvious, but he's hacked the train and is forcing it to gain speed. We'll either fly off the tracks or smash into something." Conviction says in the usual A.I. know-it-all voice.

"Can't you counter hack it?" Atlas says in a worried voice, as I move towards the control terminal.

"Oh, I know all the hacker's dirty little tricks. All the twists and secrets…Unfortunately I can't use any of them."

"What! Why not?!" Everyone yells at Conviction.

"Not only is it against the law but I am programmed not to." I cringe under my helmet as my hands manipulate the key pad trying to bypass the system. But to no avail I've been locked out.

"I could try and hack it remotely like Ryan but I don't have his resources. I can't promise anything." Atlas's voice is edgy and worried. I can't help but notice that there is something wrong with it. His voice I mean.

I slam my hand against the key pad shortly before I feel a pressure on my mind and my vision becomes an indigo color for half a second. A spark leaves my fingers and shocks the console. Whatever odd thing that just happened seems to have stopped the train.

"How did you do that, what did you do?" Conviction asked in confused.

"I…don't know." I reply honestly.

"Well…no matter, at the very least the train stopped before any-"

"What is it Conviction?" I ask getting a bad felling, in the back of my head alarms are going off.

"…Company."

Looking back towards the console I see several objects on the active sonar heading straight for the train.

"Damn! Shark Splicers I wouldn't try your Electro Bolt or the Electric Buck they may produce some very bad results." Atlas chimes in.

"Really Atlas, You make it sound like water and electricity is conductive?" I suspect my sarcasm was not missed on Atlas but he decides to remain silent…for the moment. "Atlas can you give me a sit-rep on those Shark Splicers."

"Gladly, first off they have cartilage instead of skin and its thick enough to stop a combat knife; second they're as fast as a Mako so don't plan on making a swim for it."

"You do know that I can't swim in this armor right?"

There was a pregnant pause before he continued "Focus please, would you kindly. To cut this lesson short they have all the base capabilities that sharks do. EM sensor pits, several rows of serrated teeth, etcetera, etcetera." In other words we're stuck, just great. "Perfect and just when I forget my spear gun." Mumbles Conviction.

"Vindicated Conviction you are a security program not a spear-fishermen there's no need to be an ass. Speaking of which, where's White Beard? This is his area after all; he should have got back his control already!"

"Calm down Atlas, Ryan more then likely locked him out as well." Conviction calmly assures as if he was reading the newspaper. I can't help but notice that crack in Atlas's voice again. This is the last thing I need, too be stuck at the bottom of an alien ocean with four insane A.I. and a mysterious stranger yelling over the comm channel. I can barely even concentrate to get the active sonar online.

"Enough the both of you, we have bigger fish to fry at the moment."

"Oh, that's just awful." Atlas muttered.

"I thought it was funny." Conviction says to Atlas.

"Bootlicker."

"I said enough you two, here they come." I could make out at least six individual forms; the active sonar confirms this as well once I get the damn thing back online. Its times like this I really miss Cortana, she'd at least have something intelligent say. The Splicers at first just swam in lazy circles around the train glaring at me with dead black eyes. One ventured close to the doors on the train and seems to be deciding something then thought better of it and went towards the track instead.

"What should we do?" Conviction asks, I say nothing as I continued observing the Shark Splicers. They seemed interested in the support struts, four of them anyway. A loud bang resonates through the cabin, scanning for the source I come too the middle of the ceiling.

**[NOTICE: THE ESCAPE HATCH IS TO REMAIN CLOSED UNLESS THERE IS AN EMERGENCY!]**

"You can't let them in; they'll flood the whole compartment!" Atlas yells loud enough for my eardrums to burst.

"Tell me something I don't already know, better yet…Atlas can you send in the repair crew?"

"Are you crazy Chief?!"

"That's perfectly plausible Atlas but please keep out of my personal life." I replied in mock irritation.

"Well pardon me, but just for your information the only repair crews out here are…."

"My point exactly." I stoically reply coming up with a strategy.

"I'll get right on that for you Chief, just sit tight and wait for the Calvary, would you kindly."

"Master Chief you're a cunning fighter, efficient leader, and insidiously cleaver man after my own programming…don't ever change." Replied a somewhat over adorning Conviction.

Summoning my Winter Blast Plasmid I aim my hand at the hatch and freeze it over, hopefully buying us some time. That's when I see the other Shark Splicers near the support struts start to tear at them…with their bare teeth. 'Interesting' was all I could think and that little distraction was all the other two need to go back too the door. The slow grinding and groaning sound was the only warning I got before a small splinter opening appeared in the doors letting in some water spill in.

"Chief…" Conviction said nervously.

Ignoring him I focus solely on the door in front of me, then all was deathly quiet and still. But I don't buy into it; they've proven time and time again to be intelligent opponents, well…for the most part. At any rate I crouch low and wait. "What are we doing Chief?" Conviction asks still nervous.

"We're waiting Conviction, obviously." I reply stoically.

And we didn't have to wait long. For suddenly the doors pry open reveling one of the Shark Splicers as well as a whole ocean of water behind it. I sprint forward and fire my Winter Blast but the train is then jostled and my shot went wide. I'm right in front of it now and it was to close for my comfort. The thing was a pale shade of bluish grey, its black eyes were now rolled back in its head and now white. I try to grab hold of the Splicer and I'm not surprised to find its 'Skin' was like sand paper.

Much to my horrific surprise it flung itself at me closing the doors behind as we went. The compartment was now flooded with knee deep water and my 'Guest' is nowhere in sight, 'great,' was all I could think before I notice its friend was trying to get in the door. Taking more careful aim this time with the Winter Blast, I seal the door shut…for a while anyway.

"That should hold them for-" Conviction was cut off by our 'Guest' as it lungs at my legs trying to take a bite out of them while dragging me down to drown me. This was getting aggravating so I decide to do what Cortana would call 'Crazy,' choosing to ignore Atlas's warnings I summon my Electro Bolt.

"I think this is a really BAD idea Chief!" Conviction comments frantically.

"Your opinion and concern has been duly noted." Submerging myself into the frigid water the Splicer took the opportunity to try and bit my arm off. But not before he got a high voltage punch to its ugly face, the end result was just what I expected. The taste of copper is sharp in my mouth my vision starts to fog over with spots then fully black for a moment, another vision this one however is more familiar.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_It was three weeks into The Spartan program. He and the rest of the Spartans had spent a great deal of their days and nights training. Blue Team had just come back from a 'Milk Run' and they wanted some sack time, all except him. John had a hard time sleeping in those three weeks so he opted for a workout instead, yet even after five hours in the gym he couldn't stop thinking about Kelly._

_Kelly was still in intensive care after one of CPO Mendez's 'Exercises' but Dr. Halsey said she would recover, so that didn't bother him too much. And then of course the nightmares had started again, not that they always started off as nightmares but they were confusing. Most of his dreams were occupied by visions of a girl roughly his age, sometimes they were staring at the stars other times they were by a pond or other such places… he then caught sight of Dr. Halsey walking past._

_"Dr. Halsey?"_

_She turns and offers a small smile, "Yes John?" Her smile grows a little at the sight of irritation on his face when he hears his name._

_"Doctor, I've been having those dreams again, this time-"_

_"I know, I know, as I said before they will fade in time just…be patient." _

_He couldn't help but feel relieved, though he noticed that she looked slightly…sad._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Coming back to reality with a jolt, I sit up choking for air. I take off my helmet coughing and breathing in the cold stale air the compartment.

"I'm not going to say I told you so." Conviction said exasperated after putting my helmet back on.

"Good, now what's the situation?"

"Not so well, I can't see it but I think they are trying to take the train off the tracks thus compromising the integrity of the compartment further. And our friend at the door went to try his luck at the port hole."

"How strong are they?"

"Composite Crystal is very dense and hard too break, he will have little success." The train or more accurately the track began to rock again. "His friends on the other hand might have more success."

"Atlas where in hell is-" Soon the mournful almost whale like cry of several Big Daddy's come from somewhere down the track, this does not go unnoticed by the Splicers. A smirk slowly spread across my face, "The repair crew." I finish.

"Yeah, and they don't look so happy with those Splicers. A while ago Ryan Industries had employed Big Daddies to repair the outside of the city after Shark Splicers refused to work. After all, Big Daddies were the only other ones who could breathe under water. Any destruction to the outside of the city tends to anger the repair crew."

The Big Daddies roars and their eyes burn crimson. The first one charges and impales one of the Splicers against the Ocean floor. All the Sharks Splicers freeze and stare at their fallen comrade before launching into attack.

"I've got the train hacked, unfortunately it's only got one speed…so, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times and hold onto something." Taking Atlas's word for it, I grab hold of a pole and hold on as the train starts moving and gaining speed.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I shakily step off of the train and look around at my surroundings. I'm in a room identical to the room that I had first stepped on the train on. Crates and boxes take up the entire space of the large room.

"Chief you're a paragon of escaping nasty situations…although you're something of a social pariah." Conviction notes absently and I can't help but agree.

"Okay Chief, you're very close to the control room. All you have to do is go out that door and follow the hallway. When you get to the control room, you're going to have to open the door on the landing pad to let me in." Atlas says in my speakers.

"You're in Neptune's Bounty?"

"Yes. Remember I said I'd meet up with you. I'm coming in the other way." Some how (I don't know why) this statement doesn't make much sense to me. Unfortunately I can't put my finger on it, so I leave it be. Atlas cuts the transmission.

"I wonder how he hacked the Big Daddies if he's here in the Hideout. It's not exactly something you can do here; you'd have to be in Police Plaza, Hephaestus, or somewhere like that. Big Daddies are notoriously hard to hack unless you have the Plasmid to do it and that's only for a short time before their firewalls override it." Conviction's voice says in a tone that's an odd mix of suspicion and know-it-all. I chose not to reply as I walk towards the door and proceed down the hall.

Dead fish aside, the place was relatively clean and well kept. Of course, every so often I come across a leaking or ruptured pipe. My thoughts drift and I briefly wonder what the Major is doing, probably having as good a time as I am. I glance at another freezing cold puddle as my foot steps into it.

After ten minutes I come to two doors at the very end of the hallway. One leads to the who-knows-where and the other leads to the control room. I end up having to hack the door just to get inside.

The inside is small and it has computers and screens covering every wall. I see the landing platform on one of the screens and a modified Pelican. It looks like it was re-designed to fly in space and water. Not only that but it's outer hall looks stronger and it's been painted a light gray color with the words, Fontaine Futuristics on the side.

I walk over to the main computer terminal and work on hacking it. Not an easy job since it has its own firewall systems, plus Atlas keeps telling me to hurry up and Conviction is trying to give me pointers but it's only serving to mess me up. I eventually get the job done and the door on the Platform opens.

I can see a man with wavy light brown hair and blue overalls similar to the ones Victor wore on one of the monitors. Atlas faces one of the cameras and waves to me before turning to the Pelican.

"Myra can you hear me in there darlin'. Patrick?!" He calls to the Pelican but I find my attention snapped away from Atlas and to the shadows towards the ceiling of the dock. A group of Splicers are crawling on the ceiling and are getting ready to jump down.

"It's too bad you can't do anything to help your friend." Ryan's voice says through the rooms speakers. "Except sit here and watch him die." My hands move to try and hack the comm. systems but find myself completely locked out. The Splicers jump down from the ceiling and ambush Atlas. Explosions rock the area as doors and walls are blown apart.

"We need to get out of here now Chief!" Scanning the immediate area as I exit the control room I come across a small group of Splicers searching some corpses. Walking more slowly so as not to catch their attention, I hug the wall furthest from them while making my way down the stairs to the nearest catwalk but I didn't get very far.

Two Spider Splicers came down from the ceiling just a few feet from me, disemboweling instruments in hand. "Going somewhere sweetheart?" They ask just before they charge at blinding speed toward me. I evade them in time but find myself trapped between a collapsing complex, at least seven Splicers and my way out. I don't have time for this, I try and make a run for it and find them hot on my tail. I spin while un-holstering my shotgun and fire…and hit nothing but air.

"I knew you'd miss me sweetheart." A voice from above me says sweetly. I look up in time too see one drop on me and try to get me in a death grip, "Go on, and tell me I'm pretty!" Taking a good look at her I can tell she was indeed beautiful once…but now. The poor things face was covered with a thin scarf but I could still make out numerous scars, her disfigured nose, bloodshot eyes and I don't even want to guess about the rest of her.

"I am truly sorry but I'm just coming out of a very committed relationship and she was the jealous type so try not to take this personally." Grabbing her by the wrist, I…

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I'm walking casually down the hall, in search of a way out of the Hideout. I wipe some blood off of my arm and look around the next corner.

"That was one hell of a battle Chief." Conviction says for the first time since it ended about five minutes ago.

"My favorite part was when you screamed like a girl when fifty sentinels came charging down the hall." White Beard cuts in with amusement dripping from his voice

"I did NOT scream like a girl." Conviction states in a firm and indignant voice.

"I have it recorded." White Beard's voice comes through my comm. Followed by a recording of Conviction's scream. I tune out the following 'argument' with astounding ease. I spent most of my time thinking upon my recent behavior. Speaking more often, going into the thick of combat without a thought, trusting people I've never met. I've never acted like this; I'd like to think it was the Flood polymer genes flowing through my veins…but that would probably be a lie. Then there was that odd presences when I-.

"Hey Chief, come back to us you've been staring off into space for five minutes now."

"What? Oh, I'm sorry what were you saying?"

"We've been trying to tell you we've just got a message from Victor, he says he has a way out of here too Arcadia."

"Really, how?"

"He said something about a supply train or some such, the transmission was pretty distorted."

"Ok, where too then?"

"Oh, so now you're interested?"

"Yes, now where are we going?" This is getting annoying.

"Just keep to the path and you should be there in no time."

"Great thanks, I couldn't have figured that out without you're help, you know Conviction in some ways you remind me of my last partner giving directions every ten feet."

"Listen, I'm sorry if I interrupted you fantasizing about you're former A.I. what was her name…Quirky, Corty?" I could see the cocky smile on his holographic face when he said it.

"That's not it at all, just drop it."

"Then what was it?"

"I said it was nothing." Even I could hear the irritation in my voice, surely he could too but I guess he chose to ignore it.

"You were very fond of her, weren't you?" Conviction asks in a more serious but kindly tone.

Alright that's it. "There're only three things you need to know Conviction. First, for the LAST time, that was NOT what I was thinking about, nor does it concern you of what I was. Second, not that it truly matters but yes I am…was…fond of Cortana." The frustration in my voice is more apparent now then before.

"…And third?" Conviction spoke with more caution this time.

Before I answer we catch sight of Victor at the end of a tunnel waving to me. "And third you do scream like a girl…albeit a monotone girl at that."

"How very apt of you too notice." I just shrug and continue on my way. Victor seemed to be talking to someone on a comm. device. But I couldn't hear the words that were being said. When I got close enough, Victor pocketed the radio and turned to me with a smile.

"How's it going? Harvey tells me that you've gotten around."

"Fine. And I wouldn't say that." I pause for a moment in thought before continuing. "I thought you would've sent Harvey. Doesn't he work for you?"

"Yes and no. But to answer your first question, Harvey was helping your friend last I heard." I nod and he gestures for me to follow. "The supply trains run throughout the entire city but the stations can only be reached by the hidden maintenance tunnels. The trains are used to ship supplies for construction…or at least used to." He pauses for a moment as he steps over a puddle. "The one we're heading to has a stop at Arcadia, more specifically the Desalinization Plant."

His commentary is cut short when we arrive at a dead end. Victor pulls a computer out of his pocket and taps a few buttons. The wall opens almost soundlessly and we step into the maintenance tunnel. It was completely identical to the one in Police Plaza.

The walk was a short one but Victor led us there without a problem. The station was in complete disrepair but the train itself looked fine and like it could run for years without fail.

"After Fontaine made this place his Hideout (before Peach took over) he made sure legitimate trains couldn't come in or anything else. Now that Peach's network has fallen, I've managed to get the train in." Victor taps a few more buttons on his remote and the train doors slide open.

Inside was obviously made for efficiency not comfort. We're in the passenger (or workers) car and I can't help but compare it to something the UNSC would make. The benches were made of metal without any sort of cushioning and it was nearly sterile. I watch as Victor takes a seat on one of the uncomfortable chairs and presses several buttons on his remote.

"I'll be jumping off halfway to Arcadia. You know, things to do. Apparently I have to salvage what security devices I can. Tenenbaum has everyone out looking for stuff to build up security in our Safe House. The AI we do have doesn't know the first thing about computers. Ironic isn't it?" I simply nod.

"So you need an AI with firewall skills?" Atlas says through my speakers.

"Yeah, I doubt we'd find one though."

"I know where this is going…" Conviction states with a sigh in his voice. I nod in response. "Go ahead Chief." I nod again and pull the chip out of my helmet and hand it to Victor.

"Don't break it." I say as the contractor grabs the chip and pockets it.

"I'm hurt."

**-END OF CHAPTER TEN-**

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Author's Notes:

Greetings,

Another delightful, if not, confusing chapter. I really don't have much more to say….

-KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

Hello everyone,

I would like to apologize for the combat scene. I write most of them even though I don't normally write in the first place. However KTHM is practically forcing me to because she doesn't feel like writing them. Oh, and I completely made up the Shark Splicers, it was just something to tie it all together.

-Mortified Mind

P.S Sorry about cutting off the battle scene in that one part but I REALLY couldn't think of anything to go after, 'Grabbing her by the wrist, I'. I just couldn't come up with anything and KTHM came up with a blank as well. So we thought it would be funnier to just leave it as is and jump to about ten minutes into the future. This will never happen again, we assure you.


	12. The Mongoose and the Snake

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Eleven: The Mongoose and the Snake

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

The train came to Victor's stop at a junction that he said would lead too another train which would take him and Vindicated Conviction to the Safe House where they could meet up with Tenenbaum. We exchange a short farewell and I continue on my way to the Desalinization Plant. The half-hour ride was uneventful I take the time to note that I'm traveling down what look like ancient lava tubes, there are even some rough uncut diamonds still in the walls.

Another half-hour later I start to nod off a little until the train noticeably began to slow and the computer lit up suddenly flashing a message.

**[ATTENTION WORKERS: YOU ARE ABOUT TO ARRIVE AT A STERILIZING ZONE PLEASE PREPARE FOR PURGING PROCEDURES, THANK YOU AND HAVE A NICE DAY]**

Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this. The train pulled into a secure chamber and a familiar clicking and buzzing sound fills my ears and much to my discomfort a bluish white light similar to Dr. Harrison's bio-scanner appeared. The light started moving over me however this time the pain felt more like millions of very angry fire ants eating me alive. And as quickly as it started it stopped then a very loud and sickeningly sweet voice felled the chamber.

"Thank you for your kind attention and patience you may now proceed to the Desalinization Plant and always remember a careful Splicer is a happy Splicer, and there is no room in paradise for parasites once again thank you and have a nice day." Strangely enough I've never felt cleaner in all my life, it even got the skin through the Black under Layer…impressive. Checking the rest of my person I see it even polished my armor for me. 'Sterilizing Zone' is right.

Making my out of the 'Sanitizing Cylinder' as apparently it was called by looking at the display screen on the side of the exit port. "Welcome to the Desalinization Plant. Please watch where you step, several pipes have ruptured and three sectors have been compromised." Said that same sickeningly sweet voice from before…hmm I wonder.

"Umm, hello…Voice… is there another way out of here?" This better be an interactive program the last thing I need is to start talking to myself.

"Greetings damaged aquatic engineer and to answer your inquire, yes but there is only one available. The Epsilon emergency tunnel and according to my scanners they show its structural integrity is only ten percent damaged.

"Thank you, can you lead me to it…please?"

"Of course, stay within the lit sections and do not wander my scanners indicate that this area will be compromised soon as well."

I follow the path of catwalks for a good three hours before I hear a subdued creaking sound…that's not good. As if to confirm my theory Voice came back over the load speakers.

"This area has been-"

"Compromised, yes I know." I start running as I hear the rushing sound of water coming fast. I must have run for ten minutes not stopping to breathe, I look back for a split second to check the waters progress before slamming into a hatch. "You have arrived at the Epsilon emergency tunnel, please proceed through the air lock, good luck in Arcadia Damaged Aquatic Engineer and remember a careful Spli-"

"Yes, got it, thank you Voice! But in case you haven't noticed there is a hole ocean of sea water coming this way. "

"Actually its fresh water from one of the storage tanks that ruptured earlier, the storage tanks, by the way, can purify over a-" Its times like this I truly miss Cortana. She might have been annoying from time to time but at least I had someone intelligent, if not more interesting to talk to.

Waiting inside the air lock for the pressure to equalize, I see tons of fresh water slams almost harmlessly into it. There was a loud klaxon sound, and then the opposite hatch opened. "Thank you for following the emergency protocols, you may now exit safely to tunnel Epsilon. Have a ni-" I make my escape after I shoot out the speaker, every one has a limit…that wasn't close… but it was irritating.

It was then I saw that the tunnel or more accurately another lava tube was over three miles long…perfect. However Victor assured me there would be a train like the one, I was previously on would be at a junction waiting for me. And according to this readout it was only one mile from my position I better get going.

My trek through the lava tube was long, boring, and stagnant. The only point of interest was that some of the rough diamonds were actually glowing, many different eerie colors and the water was deeper in some portions in the tunnel but nothing higher then my waistline. That was until I came across a familiar alloy, more specifically the kind found on the Phantoms. I then remember something Harvey had said at McDonagh's Tavern.

"_Where did you get the Rifle_?"

"_Arcadia. There's a whole pile of this crap just floating down at the Desalinization Plant_."

I start to pick up the pace maybe there is something worth salvaging. The frequency of the debris became steadier and the further I got down the tube I began finding objects that confirmed my theory that it was a Phantom. Things like a Plasma Cannon, parts to what I guess were a Wraith Tank, along with several other bits and pieces including, to my surprise, a Mongoose. That's when I finally found what I was looking for.

A green Phantom symbolizing that it belonged to the Separatist Sangheili. Lying on its side with its bottom partly gutted. And a few of its crew all more then likely dead, but I decide it was better to check, after all The Major survived. After searching five of the seven occupants and finding what I assumed was some sort of emergency kit, some gel like paste used for…only they knew what, and a tool kit. That's when I heard a low gurgling sound from behind me. Spinning around I see an Elite in a green Combat Harness with a blue symbol on its chest plate.

As I move closer I see he was still alive…but choking on his own fluids, when I get to him I look for the release trigger on the helmet to undo the mask. Removing it was a little more difficult then I thought the damn thing must be fused. Pulling hard this time but not so hard as too rip off his head. It finally came loose. After a while he immediately began coughing and spitting up all the excess blood and mucus.

He then slowly opened his eyes, which were a very deep shade of purple. He first focused on the Phantom and its dead crew with a tragic gaze undoubtedly thinking he was the only survivor. He must have sensed my presence for he then tried to focus on me, its eye slits narrowed in concentration for a moment then widen in surprise, and I got one of my own.

"By the Accursed Rings Spartan, what are you doing here?" She asked.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

As I emerged from that cramped tunnel I was hit with a dull but still bright light. Looking around I notice that I'm in a garden area with plush bushes and strange trees with purple leafs that remind me of home. This must be Arcadia. "Only in my dreams…" Shaking off my fatigue, I make my way to one of the trees and notice an odd semi glowing fruit growing from the branches, I decide to take my chances.

I pluck one and just stare at it for a while "Hmm…potential poisoning or starvation…ether way I'm better off most likely." I unlatch my mandible guards sniff it and find that it had an odd, yet pleasing spicy scent. After I sink my teeth into it I realize that this strange fruit was the greatest thing I ever had. It was sweet, sour, spicy, and the juice was tingly all the way down simply blissful.

That sense of peace was cut sort by the sound a human…male to be more precise off in the distance.

"Is somebody there?! Oh please help me!" He sounded frightened but I always choose the side of caution in a situation like this one. I un-holster both my Plasma Rifles and move forward slowly. The human's cries for help became more frantic as I got closer. I enter another part of this garden area, most likely a park. This one had a running stream; good my head still hurts from that infernal concoction the humans call alcohol.

Dunking my head into the stream did thankfully relieve some of my ailment…but not by much. "Please damn it, I need HELP!" Damn humans…I didn't owe them a debt… "I'm coming just remain where you are and don't yell you fool or your assistance will come from nearby Splicer! Uh…this damn head ache." Steeling myself, I quickly locate the source of the human's voice. It was on the far side of the park, I see no one else in sight, this doesn't bode well.

The door, upon closer inspection, was made out of nothing more then wood and cloth hardly, an adequate barricade. I then feel a familiar 'Whoosh' just above me, on a balcony but when I look up, all I see is an odd red mist that rapidly dissipates. This does not bode well at all. Turning back to the door, finding it open now reviling the human I assumed was calling for aid…yet he looked deathly calm.

"Come on this way my new nymph friend." He happily called out, as if he were singing. "STOP!" I shout just as he rounded a corner. I swiftly follow despite my better judgment. I come around the same corner to find him waiting but then run off down a corridor and hear that 'Whooshing' noise again. Returning too my pursuit once more, I find only a dead end with the lights flicker on and off, marvelous.

"Hello there beautiful." I hear from behind "Good evening too you as well you blood thirsty lunatic." I say as I spin round and fire a few bursts…at thin air. "Blast!" Laughter echoes from nearby, "Catch me if you can my nymph!" Oh, I intend on doing just that. I see him in the distance at the foot of some stairs I get within a firing range and he was gone. I get to the stairs, look up and as I predicted, there he was. I raise my weapons too late as he again disappears, this was getting tedious, so I decide to wait at the top floor.

Creeping up the old and creaking staircase I find he has not yet reconverted into solid form, perfect. I take a nonchalant stance and wait. "Guess wh-" He was cut off presently when the butt of one of my rifles hit him in the forehead with such force it broke his neck…finally. I take the moment to examine his corpse to only find a vile with a strange glowing fluid in side. I place it in my Harness, next to the 'Photo' of the human girl for later study.

"Oooo, We got a new playmate in the tree house…BURN IT DOWN!"

"I hope The Spartan is having better luck then I right now…wait…what am I saying?"

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

"You're a she!" I say in astonishment.

"At least my rescuer is observant." She laughs lightly but soon breaks into a fit of coughing. "Help me with the Medkit please." I hand her the kit that I had dug up earlier.

"My apologies, I've just never seen a female Sangheili…We had always thought your kind was asexual." I watched as she opens the box and begins to examine herself for injuries. It looks as if she has medical training, that's always a good thing.

"…Well, I could see how you might think that. It definitely would explain the male's aggression and chauvinistic behavior but I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Good guess though." Her comment reminds me of the Cortana a little.

"I've been traveling with another of your kind."

"Really? Who?" She asks looking up at me curiosity gleaming in her purple eyes.

"A pilot-" She cuts me off

"Let me guess. About eight foot even, bad tempered, red and black Harness, hates it when you offer help." She looks back down as she continues to bandage a part of her torso.

"Yes, that sounds about right."

"At least Ardy survived." She says as she gazes at the corpses remorsefully.

"…Ardy?" I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"Ar' Deeth Zaytumm. We've been friends since childhood."

"…Ardy?" It still doesn't click.

"I see he hasn't deemed it fit to tell you his name."

"…Ardy?" I just can't comprehend it.

"Did you suffer from what you Humans call a stroke?" She has genuine concern in her voice.

"No, I'm fine. I just was expecting…"

"Something a little more heroic, noble, and ferocious perhaps?" She asks the humor evident in her voice.

"Well, yes."

"Yes…well, if he ever hears you calling him that, he'll probably rip your head off."

"Noted. But may I ask your name?"

"Of course you can ask." She doesn't give any sign of annoyance.

"What is your name?"

"Zee'Coal but given the circumstances, you may call me Zee."

"You're a lot more polite then Ardy." I just couldn't resist.

"Oh, that's just Ardy's way. The fact that he's spoken to you says that he likes you. Otherwise he wouldn't have spoken at all." She sets the Medkit down after she's finished bandaging her herself.

"Could you fill me in on what's going on?"

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

"I should have stayed with my ship."

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

"We need to get moving." Was the first thing she said when I finished.

"It looks like the Phantom derailed the train." If only we had a…

"Yes, we'll have to find some other way…"

I look over towards a certain part of the wrecked Phantom. "I've got it." I jog over to the part of the Phantom I was staring at and pull out the Mongoose I saw earlier.

"You're not thinking, what I think your thinking. Are you?"

"Yes. It's faster then walking."

"I can't drive that thing." She says as she folds her arms across her chest. She has an Assault Rifle on her back holster and a Spiker and a Needler on her leg holsters. She also has a ton of equipment that she dug up from the wreckage in a storage pack.

"No. But I can, now get on the back and hold on tight." I tell her as I get in the drivers seat. She gets on behind me and I start up the engine. Everything seems to be in working order, even the headlights are functioning.

We're accelerating down the tunnel without too much trouble (except for when Zee fell off), the water wasn't even that high in most areas. I frown as I see a person lounging against a wall in the distance. Harvey, I recognize the Cowboy boots. I honk at him as we whiz by.

"Hey, I want one of those!" He yells after us.

"A friend of yours." She calls over the noise of the engine and the wind whipping by our faces.

"Something like that." It's like that man is everywhere.

"Are you sure it is safe to drive at such velocities?" Zee' asked above the noise. However I don't detect any distress in her voice, in fact I'd say she was enjoying this.

"I think the bigger question is where does this tunnel end up. Victor never told me."

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

Why, oh why didn't I just listen to Uncle?

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I pull the Mongoose to a stop in front of a door that says Rolling Hills. Didn't Atlas say something about getting to Rolling Hills" I switch my radio on and hope Atlas will get that I want to talk. I have no idea what frequency he is operating on.

"The pelican blew up." Only I can hear him, he's on a secure channel.

"What?"

"The PELICAN BLEW UP! My families dead." There's a sob on the other end. Something wrong. With his sob I mean. It sounds off… like he's trying to change his voice.

"This ends now! Get to the Bathysphere in Rolling Hills; you need to go to Hephaestus after that. Kill Ryan and we get out of this hell hole." Fine. I look to see that Zee' has managed to get the door open and is examining the green surroundings outside of the tunnel.

"Zee' hold on." She turns back to me with surprise on her face before she gets back on and tightens her hold as I push the accelerator.

"What's the hurry? I was hoping to examine some of the plants." She calls over the noise.

"Apparently, we have no time for pleasantries!" We fly over a hill and hit the ground hard without stopping.

"Hey! Wait, stop!" I step on the break and the tires squeal as we pull to a stop.

"What is it?" I look around frantically for any sort of danger, only to find none.

"Aloe barbadensis." She says happily as she walks up to a plant.

"It's an Aloe Vera plant."

"Very good. Used in some medicines. Mostly epidermis medicines, if I remember my research of your planet correctly."

"What does that have to do with our currant situation?"

"What? Oh, nothing. I've just never seen one up close before. Doesn't this plant only grow in your Mediterranean Sea?"

"I don't know. I am NOT a botanist. Please get back on the Mongoose." She looks as if she is about to reply when something beeps and a foul looking gas is suddenly vented into the room.

"What's going on?" Zee' asks looking around. The plants were dying.

"Listen you two. I'm no sort of botanist but I think Ryan just released some sort of poison into the air. It's killing the trees. Under the ocean Boyo, no trees, mean no air. No air we all die. Give me a minute to think."

"If we're all about to potentially suffocate, I don't think we have a minute." Zee' states as she gazes sadly at the dying plants.

"I've got it. The head of Arcadia is an old bitch named Langford. An okay sort, except she's not afraid to do a dirty job for a credit or two. She should be willing to help us; after all she planted the bloody things."

"Which way?"

"Her lab is to your left." Atlas cuts the transmission. I turn and for the first time, notice a hallway. I carefully park the Mongoose and pull an ignition circuit. I could easily put it back in place in a few seconds but it would deter any would-be thieves into stealing a 'broken' ATV.I pocket the circuits and move down the hall with Zee' following close behind.

The metal door opens and we walk into a glass tunnel. Zee' looks at the fish swimming by with interest. We come to a stop at another door that's obviously locked. There are two screens on opposite sides of the door and a Pneumo. I late middle aged woman comes on the screen, she examines Zee' for a moment (who waves) before turning to glare at me.

"My trees. It wasn't you was it?"

"I'll have you know-" Zee' begins but I cut her off.

"Look at me. Do you really think I have the expertise to do something like this?

"Your right." I'm not sure whether I should take offense to that or not. "Well, if you want to keep breathing I'll need your help in gathering some ingredients. I need them to save the forest."

"Fine, what do you need?"

"First just get me a Rosa Gallica and two chlorophyll solution."

"Fine. Where do I find the rose and the chlorophyll?

"Look in the grotto for the Rosa Gallica. But the only chlorophyll left was taken by a group of Splicers that live near the post office."

"I'll tell the Major to get the chlorophyll." Atlas states before quickly cutting the comm.

"We'll be back." We turn and leave for the Rolling Hills again but Langford's voice calls over to us.

"Watch out for the Saturnine. They're a bunch of Spliced up morons who drink human blood, knock back goblets of Plasmid and call it ambrosia." I walk back down the tunnel with Zee' in silence. When we get back to Rolling Hills, I see a group of Splicers trying to get the Mongoose to work. I shake my head and un-holster my pistol.

"This neighborhood has really gone to hell."

"I told you we should have gotten an alarm." Zee' replies sarcastically as she aims her Spike Rifle.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

"We need you to get the Chlorophyll solution in the Post Office. According to Langford, a group of Splicers are holding the bottles hostage. So to speak." Atlas pauses before continuing. "The Chief and his new friend are going after the Rosa Gallica, so you won't need to worry about that." He cuts off the transmission and I pocket the radio. Harvey had given it to me on our last encounter whilst I was on my way here.

I'm staring at a sign that reads:

_Farmers Market (Left)_

_Hermes Wings (Right) _

_Pan's Labyrinth (Straight)_

I turn right to go to Hermes Wings (the Post Office). While I am walking I think over Atlas's message. The Spartan has a new 'friend'? Why do I get the feeling that this does not bode well for me. I frown and shake myself out of my thoughts when I nearly run into a sign that proclaims: Hermes Wings.

I see a decent sized white marbled building with golden steps leading to two heavy swinging doors. If I didn't know any better I'd say this also doubled as the city's record office. I go up the steps and to the golden doors. I notice that both have an engraved 'R' on them in silver.

The inside of the building is also done in white marble and gold paint and the Ryan Industries logo can be seen painted in bronze on the floor. The ceiling shows the ocean but I suspect it is just a large screen rather then a glass roof because when I was coming in, I observed that the building doesn't reach the city's roof. Though the holo-screen is a nice touch to the architecture.

I gaze around the room and see three doors. Two are located on either side of me and the third is located up a short flight of stairs dead ahead of me. I frown and gaze at each door for a moment before closing my eyes. Help would be nice.

"Are you lost dearie?" I snap my eyes open to see a construct gazing at me from a holo-pad, it is a depiction of an old human woman wearing a dress, a straw hat and a pair of work gloves. She is holding a watering can and a striped tabby cat lay at her feet.

"Yes. I need to know where the things from the Pneumos are processed."

"Oh, I know! Vindicated Conviction asked me to hold some things for someone. Yes, I believe that I have some of your things. All you have to do, dear, is go in the door behind me and follow the path 'till you get to the door at the very end of the hall. Your things will be in there."

"Thank you. By the way have you seen a group of Splicers around here? They have something I need."

"I know the Chlorophyll bottles. Julie asked me to keep an eye on those Splicers until someone was sent to retrieve the ingredients for the Lazarus Vector she's working on. I'll point you in their direction once you have your things." I nod at her and go through the door she had indicated.

The room (though dim lighted) is huge. Warehouse size, with Pneumos lining the walls receiving things and sending them back on their way. I see tables in the middle of the room with things lined up on it. The objects are scanned with a blue light before they are teleported back to the Pneumos in large groups. Forerunner teleportation devices, I wonder where they got them. Or for that matter, how they have the power supply to operate them. I know for a fact that it requires large supplies of power, which is why the Covenant never actually used the Teleporter.

"Are you there?"

"If you mean me, then yes." The constructs voice says and I see her on a holo-pad near one of the tables.

"How are you getting the power to operate these devices on a daily bases?"

"The volcanic vents. We never run out of power. Not to mention, it's clean too, since it's natural."

"That makes sense."

"Ryan thought so too." With my question answered, I set off down the path once more. I can see the door at the very end of the path. It's not even locked, though it looked as if it could withstand a battery ram if sealed up.

The inside of the room looked like an evidence room in a Police Station (I observed when in Police Plaza). I see objects lying on it but I ignore them in favor of my missing equipment. Two holo-drones, a customized grav-lift, an EMP bomb, and last but not least, my tool kit.

"This place was used for contraband goods that were found in the Pneumo system. The rebels stopped using it when they realized they were being busted." I nod at the construct's explanation as I put away my equipment and am about to open my tool kit and get to work when I remember that the trees are dying. Right, save air supply first, and then repair my armor.

"Where are those Splicers?"

"Oh right, what you want to do is go back to the entrance hall and go through the door on your left." I nod and set out on my way.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I sigh as my foot gets caught in more mud. I wish my armor wasn't so heavy. Zee', however is taking this to her advantage and is looking at all the interesting flora and fungi that she comes across. The grotto is huge and we've been wondering for a while trying to find the stupid rose. I'm afraid I'm not as interested in plants and the surroundings as Zee' is.

I yank my foot out of the ground, only to have to pull the other one out as well. I glance at Zee' to find her on her knees studying a group of mushrooms. "They don't have things like this on my planet. Imagine plants that don't need sunlight! I thought I heard wrong when I was told of it."

"You sound like a botanist." I say as I trudge over to her.

"I am, or rather, I'm a novice I have this general thirst for knowledge."

"Define novice."

"I used to help my mother in the garden where she worked. Or how she told, I ran around in the mud and leaves while she planted."

"And did you?" She just smiles at the fond memory of her mother as I trudge ahead. I hate mud and swamps.

"Why are you so polite to me? Most Elites I've met had to hold back their animosity toward me except you." I ask genuinely curious.

"That's because I knew the truth long before they did." She replied slightly sad.

"What truth?"

"My parents knew that your kind was the Forerunners. Even though the Prophets denied it. A group of separatist Elites existed long before Installation 05. We've been hunted down and have had to operate in secret for a long time. Though, some of us were able to inform your ONI at key times. It's where a lot of your intelligence came from." She paused and sighed as she caught up to me. "My parents were one of the first ones to be killed, along with Ardy's parents. Intelligence agents who found out a bit too much. After that Ardy's uncle was kind enough and influential enough to take us in."

I look at her in only mild surprise and confusion as I pull my foot out of more mud. Why is she telling me this? Well, why not, right? "I think I once overheard something about an Elite separatist group. People thought that it was only rumors and nothing more."

"Your ONI operatives are good at keeping things secret and releasing what knowledge they want to release."

"It's why they've been elevated to near mythic standards." I'm about to say more but my foot abruptly slips on some mud and I go tumbling to the ground and slide into the water. I sit up quickly and take off my helmet when water flows into it through the crack in the visor. I cough up the water that got into my mouth and glare at a laughing Zee'.

"You're very graceful Spartan." I'm about to reply when a disturbance in the water catches my attention. "Is there something wrong?"

"I think there's something in here with me." I put my helmet back on and stand up. This does not look good.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I push open the door and freeze in my tracks. The Splicers are already dead but that's not what has my attention. A giant black and red snake with gold and jade feathers adorning it's head is curled up in the room and it looks as if it has already digested several of the long dead Splicers.

"Oh, I probably should have warned you that Skippy escaped from the Zoo." I glare at the holo-pad that has the construct displayed on it. A giant snake. Wonderful.

**-END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN- **

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

Hi,

SKIPPY!!!!!!!

-KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

Uh,

Read and review…..

-Mortified Mind


	13. In the Footsteps of Theseus & Hercules

Halo: Rapture 

Chapter Twelve: In the Footsteps of Theseus, Hercules & Perseus 

Master Chief, Spartan-117_______________________________________________________________

I stare at the creature that has just risen from the water in complete and utter disbelief. Why me? Did I piss off some deity in a past life?

The creature is something that resembles a giant squid and a sea serpent of legend. No legs but about a dozen tentacles with razor sharp suckers on then. It screeches at us and the tentacles come up to strike.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I dodge out of the way as it lunges at me quick as lightning. I un-holster one of my Plasma Rifles and open fire. The shots hit its tough scales harmlessly. It looks as if this isn't going to work.

I dodge again as my eyes search the room for a better weapon.

Master Chief, Spartan-117_______________________________________________________________

"Spartan can you hear me!" Zee' shouts.

"Yes!" Was all I could say in between dodging this thing's massive limbs.

"Good, I have been speaking to a construct called 'Gaia' and she said the 'Kraken Serpent' is vulnerable to sources of great heat…does that help?" She asked with great concern.

The Kraken Serpent swings three tentacles at my position on a small island I see a rock face and get an idea. "Perhaps…Zee' get your Spiker and await my signal."

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I have been running from room to room and from Skippy for a while before I come across another packaging center with my salvation inside. Lying in a heap in the middle of the floor, among other things, was a human military case marked.

**[WAV MS GGNR SPARTAN LASER.] **

I had seen The Spartan use this before for our assault upon the towers on the Ark. And I will admit that it was an impressive weapon and one I could use right now.

"Now you be careful with that, you could go blind, my little tadpole." The construct informs me sweetly.

I don't believe this…I'm on an alien planet, surrounded by hostiles, cut off from my only support, and now a construct that acts like my mother…I should have stayed with my ship.

The feathered serpent came around the corner looking for it's pray which was standing with his back turned. The large snake slithered up silently and slowly till it was sure it's pray did not suspect a thing, and then when the time was right, it struck.

Master Chief, Spartan-117_______________________________________________________________

I throw my last stun grenades in the water, which pisses the thing off…exactly what I wanted. It rises out of the water more and tries to take a bite out of me but Zee' takes the hint and opens fire with her Spiker. I summon my Incinerate and snap my fingers to light the spikes ablaze.

It shrieks and staggers away as the spikes hit it just under its eyes. I snap my fingers again and light the spikes still embedded in its scales on fire. For some reason I can't light the creature itself on fire. All the same the creature shrieks once more and dives back in the water with its gills gasping for water.

Zee' and I take our chance and run for the grotto exit. We keep running until we are well away from the water.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

The feathered serpent struck and snapped its jaws shut which destabilized the holo-drone. Confused, the serpent flecked its long forked tong out to gauge the air and found its target was behind him. The serpent turned and faced it's pray which stood still and unafraid, it could tell. What it couldn't see was a small bright red dot aimed at his head. The serpent hissed deep in its throat and lunged forth for another strike.

"Come on, just a little further….got you." The Spartan Laser discharged violently and hit the creature right down its open maw the serpent burst open then fell limp...victory.

I grinned in triumph…then the innards of the accursed creature hit me "That was just disgusting."

"Good job tadpole." The construct says in her motherly voice from her spot on a rocking chair. Her cat is now awake and is hissing and trying to make a swipe at me. The construct grabs the cat and pulls it back onto her lap. It curls up and closes its eyes.

"No Spot, he's a nice boy." It growls again but doesn't otherwise move. A lazy dog, a schizophrenic parrot, and now a rabid cat. Every single construct 'pet' was completely insane, I can't wait to meet more. All sarcasm intended.

I frown at my excess of weapons. I un-holster my carbine and check my rounds. I'm almost out. I should leave it behind but I'm loath to part with it, it's my only long distance, precise weapon. But I do think I'll need the Spartan Laser. Oh, the agony of choice.

I holster the Spartan Laser and carry my Carbine. It's the only compromise I can think of. I begin my search through the rooms for the Chlorophyll bottles. I hope the Spartan has better luck.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I walk up to the large bush-like plant with dozens of glowing roses on it. I stare at the glittering pollen for a moment before reaching out for the flower.

"Wait!" My hand drops and I watch as Zee' runs up to the plant and examine it for a moment. "Now, this is an interesting specimen. A plant from the Rosa genus that can survive without sunlight, all it needs is plenty of water and a cool environment."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, nothing really. I'm just trying to determine how this is going to save the forest." Good point but it's not my job to question botanists.

"Just grab it and let's get out of here before we suffocate." She nods and quickly clips the flower and puts it in a container she seemingly pulls out of nowhere.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was easy enough to get back to Rolling Hills but it took twice as long since we went around the Kraken Serpent. We are now walking up the glass tunnel to where we spoke to Langford the last time.

"Did you bring the Rosa Gallica? Then what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation, send it through the Pneumo Your friend sent the Chlorophyll through it a few minutes ago." Zee' places the rose into the Pneumo and the heavy metal door slides open to admit us entrance.

"I'm going to go out by the Mongoose Spartan, I want to examine some of the plants over there." I nod at her and go through the door as she walks off down the glass tunnel once more.

I walk into an office like room complete with old fashion file cabinets and oak desk. An old lamp illuminates the room.

"That way dear." I look to see the AI Gaia sitting in a rocking chair on a holo-pad built into the desk. She is pointing out an open doorway, I nod. The next room is filled with water and has hacked turrets and stationary Camera Drones.

"Don't worry about the security systems, they won't bite. Gaia and I have this place hacked." Langford's voice says over my comm. system.

The room is a large laboratory that looks only semi destroyed aside from the water. I hear lumbering footsteps and turn to see a lone Big Daddy walk right passed me without so much as a glance in my direction. It makes one of its famous groans as it walks away and down the hall.

I continue on my way to Langford's office and find it without trouble. A glass bullet proof screen separates the two of us and I see her measuring chemicals in beakers. I'm about to say something to her when a voice cuts me off.

"On the surface I once bought forest…parasites claimed that the land belonged to everybody and demanded that I established a public park there. Why? So the rabble could stand slack jawed under the canopy and pretend that it was paradise. When the Council moved to nationalize my forest I burnt it to the ground. They did not plant the seeds of this Arcadia, I did." Ryan cuts the transmission and before I can do anything an electric charge is shot at me from a bunch of tangled wires sticking out from near the ceiling.

I convulse and drop to the floor. The pain is unbearable and I'm losing consciousness. I can just barely make out that Julie Langford is banging on the glass trying to say something. I want to throw up and my body is over heating.

I see that a gas has been let loose in the room that Langford is sealed up in. She's going to die too. I think she's trying to write something on the glass.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_I'm sitting on a high chair and watching a woman with long dark brown hair playing a beautiful song on a piano. I smile and gurgle happily as I reach for the pretty woman. She's facing away from me and doesn't notice that I want to be picked up and taken to the instrument. _

_A man sitting at the kitchen table notices my predicament and puts the morning's paper down. He walks over to me and picks me up. The man with black hair carries me over to the piano and the woman notices and takes me from the man's arms. I giggle happily as she set me on her lap and begins to play again. The man says something but I don't hear it…_

_I'm six now and I walk into the room that the man had moved the piano to after the woman had died. I know the woman is dead and for some reason I am very sad. I had just gotten home from a bad day at school. The piano always made me feel better. _

_I sit down on the stool and my hands play the song that the woman had played all those years ago. I love that song…_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I sit up and pull my helmet off as I cough up blood. I place my helmet back on my head and stand up. My limbs are still twitching and my knees feel like jelly but I manage to keep upright. I look up at the glass and see that Langford had used her last moments to write numbers on it with the green gas that had stuck onto the window like algae.

"9457." I mutter as I walk through Langford's now open door. Her office is cluttered but clean enough. I look around and find shotgun shells littering her desk and I quickly pick them up, she won't need them anymore.

Langford's body is lying near the window and I can't help but cringe. She was sane, why did she have to die? I shake my head and look around for a vault. I shake my head again and sigh when I see a flower painting on the wall. So cliché.

I swing the painting and discover the vault behind it just as I had guessed. I punch in the code and the vault opens. Inside is an audio chip.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_Dr. Julie Langford,_

_I did it! I cracked the Vector. Or at least I'm 99% certain I have. All I need is a bud of Rosa Gallica, two bottles of Chlorophyll Solution, seven units of distilled water, and enzyme samples of Apis Mellifera. That's right sweetheart, honeybee spit."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Atlas?"

"I heard, I'll tell the Major to get the distilled water. You get the bee spit….You know, that's something you don't exactly say everyday." I shake my head once again and head back to Rolling Hills to pick up Zee'.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

"Langford's dead. I need you to get…seven units of distilled water. You should be able to find that in Worley's Winery in the Farmer's Market. Just follow the sign." I pocket the radio and begin to clean up my tools and other such. I had taken the time to fix my pilot harness. It still has some bugs in it but it definitely works better.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I find Zee' examining a normal (if not wilted) looking tree with bright blue flowers. It looks as if she is about to climb it to get a closer examination but my voice stops her. "Ryan killed Langford, we're going to have to find the rest of the ingredients for the Lazarus Vector on our own. I'm sure you can mix it yourself."

"I'm flattered by your confidence in me." She states sarcastically. "So, where are we going?" I walk over to the Mongoose and put the ignition circuits back in it.

"To the Farmer's Market. Atlas says it isn't far but from the sound of it, he's lying. Besides we don't have much time. The trees are dying fast." She nods and gets in the back while I get into the driver's seat.

We managed the one hour trip to the Farmer's Market main access junction with little incident, I guess the oxygen was a bit too thin for the Saturnine. We come to a stop just at the entrance of the access way that Atlas said would lead to the Silverwing Apiary where we could acquire the enzyme samples. I once again remove the ignition circuits when Zee' snaps her head around to some blood red bushes.

"What is it Zee'?" I ask readying my shotgun with Exploding Buck.

"I believe this forest is still alive with more then just dying plants." She mumbles nervously as she grabs her MA5C which I noticed she seemed too preferred over Covenant weapons.

Her beliefs proved prophetic, "HARNESS THE FLAME! HARNESS THE MIST!" A female Houdini Splicer yelled while unleashing a few fire balls at a group of unsuspecting Splicers, and then vanished.

"Its those goddamn fanatics! The disease! Kill the disease! " Yelled one of them. Then shots rang out and fire balls flew over head. But lucky for us they seemed more intent on killing each other then Zee' and myself. That was until the female Splicer set fire to some oil slick, the other Splicers foolishly were standing in. Zee' took aim at her before I could stop her and fired a short burst which hit her right arm before she disappeared in a stream of red mist.

"She disintegrated…but I only hit her in the arm." Zee' said greatly confused by what she saw.

"Be careful, she's still here...somewhere." She nods and we proceed slowly watching for anything odd. A disturbance to my left caught my attention but I caught it too late. "How dare you defy the Saturnine!" The Splicer yelled from behind us and released a stream of fire…and was stopped by the bright gold field of energy generated by Zee's Bubble Shield.

"I knew this would be of great advantage and to think we almost left it at the Phantom." She said I nod and decide to take advantage of the Houdini Splicer's confusion. I switch to my Electro Buck and step out and fire a single shot, shocking her before she could vanish. Zee' switched to her Spiker and came out and fired three red hot spikes into her sternum, knocking her back and nailing her to a nearby tree.

I look back at her with a look of surprised, I really didn't think she had it in her, for her part she merely shrugged and said. "I just wanted to be sure she didn't vanish again…come let us get these samples so we can fix the forest." She then picks up the bubble shield after it deactivates for some reason and we continue onwards unchallenged till we came to the hatch that led to the Apiary. We open it and wait inside for the other door to open but then a loud klaxon came over the speaker.

"Attention occupants you are infected with a level four contaminate you must be sterilized before proceeding. Please keep calm this will only take five minuets, thank you for your cooperation have a nice day and always remember The Great Chain guides us all."

"Great the oxygen is being drained from Rapture and we're stuck in here." The frustration in my voice was not missed by Zee' as I feel her hand on my shoulder. I turn toward her and see a calm compassion in her purple eyes.

"Easy Spartan, we must stay focused if we are to succeed. This is only a minor inconveniency we'll just use this time to get know one another." She said positively then smiled slightly.

She was right, a bluish white light started rolling over them I noticed Zee' was fidgeting nervously.

"Try to stay calm it will hurt less…trust me." She nods and tries to calm herself but still looked apprehensive maybe this will distract her.

"May I ask you a personal question Zee'?" She faced me with a sweet smile.

"Of course you may, so long as you don't mind if I ask one later." she replied slightly less apprehensive.

"Very well…You said your parents were killed because they knew that humans where the descendants of the Forerunners but how would they know that? I would think that the Prophets would keep that tightly amongst them selves." She looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"My father worked for the ministry that analyzed new species for absorption into the Covenant. When my father was first assigned to assess your kind-"

"Assess?"

"Yes you know, whether you should be asked to join or if you were too weak and just conquer and force you to. Anyway as I was saying…after sometime of coursing through all the data he received from an unknown Jiralhanae vessel he determined that you were although technologically inferior, you more then made up for by the innovation you showed, something we almost inherently lacked. By this basis of logic he also believed your kind would jump at the chance to join a technologically superior alien race.

"So what went wrong?" I ask very curious now.

"Well…you see we have a scanning device that can detect Forerunner relics and when the ship came into scanning range, imagine their surprise when the whole planet lit up with relics and an Oracle."

"An A.I. you mean." I corrected.

"Yes, and please stop interrupting me, its hard enough concentrating with this damn thing probing places that I don't want to mention." She said with a mild irritation in her voice.

"My apologies." I say knowing exactly how she felt.

"Anyway, my father became concerned on what this could mean, so he dug deeper and came across a data file that only a Prophet could access labeled: 'The Reclaimers'. Never truly trusting the Prophets, he managed to, 'Hack' as you say, his way into the file and found out the disturbing truth. Not sure what to do or to whom he should speak, he came home early…I remember that day as if it was just a moment ago. Mother had just made my favorite dish when he came in and summoned my mother to follow him she told me to stay and eat at the table but being a child I sneaked up to the door and heard the whole story I just told you.

"Three minuets left." The voice informed and the beam increased in its intensity.

"Well to cut this long story short (AN: Too late) he began organizing the separatist into small cells at first, to cut down on the risks but…things don't always go as planned. They came for my mother first and…well something's are best left unsaid but I was forced to watch. As you may imagine it caused my great hatred for the Prophets and ALL they stood for." The rage in her eyes dispelled her calm demeanor.

"My father was more fortunate, he was on an installation he constructed over the remains of the first Halo ring which you destroyed, if I'm not mistaken. But was later killed by the very person who took me in to care for me and to 'Reverse the adverse effects of my father's heresy'. You can't believe how torn I was at the time."

No probable not, I decide to change the subject. "I may have asked this before but…what is it that you do?"

She gives me a coy look and say, "To put it simply as possible, I'm a Field Analyst and an accomplished scientist in all fields in thereof in what I do." I just wait for her to elaborate. "As a scientist I was called on to study your kind…weapons, medicine, food, languages, plants, and…well…you get my point."

"It's also a good position to sabotage Covenant efforts at mimicking our tactics." I point out she just nods.

"That explains your many talents but what about you and Ar' Deeth? You said-"

The klaxon sounded again "Decontamination cycle complete, you may now proceed. Thank you for waiting." Zee' smiled, happy the ordeal was over with. "That friend Spartan is a story for another time." As we exit the chamber I can't help but wonder how The Major was doing.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I'm currently chest deep in frigid cold water, all of my weapons and equipment in a crate I found and am holding it over my head, well above the water. I'm not too sure about the Spartan Laser but Covenant weapons don't work so well after being dunked in water. Unfortunately I have to cross this stupid basement to get to the main part of the Winery. Why did I have to come in the back way?"

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I look around to see that the entrance way to Silverwing Apiary is like a shop entrance. There's a cashier's desk and shelves with different products (I.e. fresh honey, and honey products). Most of the jars are smashed and the contents dripping on the ground.

I notice that for some reason there is a beehive hung in one of the corners of the room. Must have been built by rogue bees that escaped the backroom.

"I've always wanted to try honey." Zee' says and I turn to see her holding an intact jar curiously.

"Go ahead and taste, I doubt the owner would mind." I say and I nudge a corpse by my foot to prove my point. She tilts her head to the side before opening the jar and putting a finger in it experimentally before tasting the sticky golden substance.

"Not bad." She states as she clicks her mandibles. I nod and look towards the backdoor. I hear noises out there.

"Gaia, what exactly does Honeybee spit look like?"

"I'm not much of a bee keeper, dear. But I believe what Julie was talking about was the enzymes the Honeybee digestive system creates. The glands that create the enzymes are in the walls of its stomach, or ventriculus."

"So what you're saying is that I have to dissect a Honeybee."

"No."

"But you said-"

"I said that's where I think it comes from. I never said that you had to do it. Weeks ago, Julie asked the owner of this store to extract the enzyme samples for her. They should be on one of the tables in the backroom." I sigh and look over at Zee'

"Zee' stay here and don't touch anything." I tell her and look over at the beehive hanging in the back of the room. She nods in understanding and tastes a bit more of the honey.

The door opens and I find myself on a porch like area with machines designed to release the smoke. I can see Splicers getting stung and hurt by the bees that are flying freely around the room just outside of the porch I am on.

I push the button to release the smoke and find that it is on a timer. I am going to have to do this quickly. I step off the porch and shoot one of the Splicers in my way with my pistol. A slow clicking sound can be heard slowly getting faster, obviously to tell me when my time is up.

I run to the back of the room and search the wooden work tables for the enzymes that Gaia was talking about. The clicking is getting faster. There! I found a vial. I believe I need several vials. Why didn't the woman put them together? Probably just to make my life more miserable. Why am I talking to myself?

I run back to the porch just as the timer goes off (with a pleasant 'ding' sound at the end) and I'm forced to shoot several Splicers that have decided that they want to pick a fight with me. I holster my pistol and take out my upgraded one. Anti-personnel rounds, with perfect chest shots.

I push the button to release the smoke again and run out to another table (after shooting a few more Splicers). I knock several unimportant (to me anyway) vials to the ground. I pick up two more vials of Honeybee spit and retreat to the porch once again.

These Splicers just won't give up. I fire a couple more shots and watch them drop like flies. I duck as a Splicer from across the room opens fire at me with an SMG. I snap my fingers and the man lights ablaze. He screams and actually runs at me. Surprised, I only jump out of the way at the last second.

I push the button for the last time and run out to another table. I find the last samples quite easily enough and get back to the porch. After dispatching the last of the Splicers I head back to the front room.

My jaw actually drops when I see the state it's in. All the jars are smashed and honey covers practically the entire floor, the beehive is on the ground and dozen of angry bees are swarming around a panicking Zee'. I snap my fingers at different places in the room and set things I fire. I'm hoping to create enough smoke to make the insects fall asleep.

Zee' looks at me gratefully before turning to her stung skin as the bees recede back to their damaged hive. "Zee' I told you not to touch anything. You touched EVERYTHING!"

"I was curious. I didn't think they'd hurt so much."

"You've obviously never studied Earth insects."

"No, that job was for someone else." She rubs her skin mournfully and I retrieve some cream for bee sting from behind the cashier's desk. She looks at me gratefully again as she applies it.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

"I hate the cold and I hate water." I glare at the water that has just started pouring on my head. The crack in the ceiling came out of nowhere. I sigh in exasperation and move on. I have four bottles of distilled water, all of which I have sent through the Pneumo to Langford's office. Atlas tells me the Spartan will retrieve them when he goes back there.

I glare at another wine bottle as I move past it. I have something called a 'duffle bag' thrown over my shoulder and it carries my Carbine and some useful things I found (I.e. Human grenades, complete Medkit, extra parts that might come in handy later, and ammunition rounds for various human weapons that the Spartan might want.).

I push open another door and scan the room. I have fought quite a few Houdini Splicers since arriving at the winery and I am not taking any chances. I take a cautious step forward but nothing happens. The room is dimly lit and some of the lights are flickering on an off. An inch of water covers most of the floor and tanks that contain wine in its early stages are situated against the walls. In some places the wooden floor has given out and you can see the next level down or in some cases the next level up.

I hear a loud groan and see a lone Big Daddy walking up a flight of stairs not far from me. His heavy metal boots make the floor vibrate and I move out of his way as he walks by. As long as it isn't attacking me, I won't attack him.

I make a quick search of the room and find nothing so I go down the flight of stairs that the Big Daddy had just walked up. Down below is another flooded basement but the water is this one only comes to my knees. Much more bearable then the last one.

I look around at the flickering lights and random floating crates. There is another set of stairs towards the other end of the destroyed room. I'm about to trudge over to it when something catches my eyes. A bottle of distilled water. I quickly grab it and place it in my duffle bag. I'll send it through the next Pneumo I see.

Five down, two to go.

I look around to see if there is anymore floating about but find none. I shrug and make my way the set of stairs I saw earlier.

At the top of the stairs a large fight is going on in an employee lounge area (that's what the sign called it). A group of Houdini Splicers were attacking a larger group of Spider Splicers. "He is the poison! Kill him!" One of the Splicers shouted (I can't tell which one) and I quickly find some cover. They haven't noticed me and I intend to stay out of their little spat.

I crouch low and quietly move from cover to cover. At least there's plenty of it. Chairs and couches are knocked over and broken. Coffee tables flipped over and wood from the ceiling scattered in different places.

As I am crawling behind a bar I find another bottle of distilled water. Six down, one to go. I stop moving as a body flies past me and hold my breath. Nothing happens. Good, they still haven't noticed me. I carefully make my way to the door and slip through it without trouble.

The next room is a kitchen or at least it was a kitchen. The tiles in most places have been ripped out, the ceiling doesn't exist anymore, appliances and silverware are scattered across the floor. Cabinets are hanging open and the counters are dirty with disturbing carving etched into them. A pool of blood is in the sinks and more blood is on the wall in hellish paintings. A corpse of a mutilated chef finishes the ensemble.

Shaking my head, I look around the kitchen for the last bottle of distilled water. I pick up a few kitchen knives and place them in the duffle bag, you never know when an improvised weapon might come in handy. I open the refrigerator and close my eyes as more blood flows out of it. "That is disgusting."

Moving away I go through a heavy metal door to find that it is a freezer. I make sure the door can't close on me before going in. The freezer isn't actually working anymore and once frozen goods are lying rotting on the shelves and floor. I do, however find the last distilled water among some once frozen 'vodka and Arcadian Merlot'.

I place it in the duffle bag and leave the freezer. That's when an explosion rocks the floor. Screams and other noises are coming from the lounge. I un-holster one of my Plasma Rifles and nudge the door open. I can't help but be surprised by the seen that lies before me.

Sighing, I holster my Plasma Rifle and walk freely into the lounge and stand next to Harvey. He has a satisfied look on his face and his arms are crossed over his chest. The man is lounging against the bar that I had hid behind earlier.

He is so calm because the Big Daddy I had seen earlier was slaughtering the large group of Splicers that were fighting in the room a little while ago.

"They were stupid enough to attack that thing?" I gesture to the Splicers then the Big Daddy. Harvey shakes his head in response.

"They attacked me. The big guy thinks that I'm his Little Sibling. It's a Plasmid that hypnotizes them. Now, I only have a few Plasmids and Tonics because I want to keep what's left of my sanity but the ones I do have come in handy." I nod in understanding before looking over at Mister Bubbles.

"What happens when he come out of the spell?"

"Nothing, he just shakes it off and goes on his way." I nod again, that does sound like a handy Plasmid.

"What are you doing here?" I ask as I walk over to a Pneumo that's by the bar and place the distilled water in it after submitting the address.

"I'm here to tell you that the only way out of Arcadia is Pan's Labyrinth. The Bathysphere was destroyed. You'll have to be careful not to get lost though. It's called a labyrinth for a reason." He pauses for a moment in thought. "I believe the other end is near a Bathysphere that will take you to Oceanus's Dock." He frowns for a moment and looks up at the dirty ceiling.

"What's wrong?"

" I think I'm forgetting something but I can't recall. I hate when this happens." He scratches his head in frustration before giving me an apologetic look. "It'll probably come to me while you are in the middle of Pan's Labyrinth, you just watch." He sighs as the Big Daddy walks off and all the Splicers are dead. Harvey leaves to follow it.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I'm driving along at a fast but easy pace towards Langford's lab once again. Zee' has been quiet for a long, I think her pride's been wounded by the bees.

"May I ask you a question?" Zee' finally asks.

"If you'd like."

"Why do you always take the ignition circuits out of the Mongoose? I have a feeling it's more then just paranoia that it'll get stolen."

"No, it IS paranoia that it'll get stolen." I see her looking at me curiously over my shoulder so I continue my explanation. "It started when I had just completed this mission for Commander Keyes. My only mode of transportation was a Mongoose and I had parked it without a thought near the entrance of the camp I was infiltrating. When I leave the camp, I find that my Mongoose is gone and that a Grunt was taking it for a joyride. Naturally I do everything in my power to get my only means of transportation back. I waste all my ammo and chase after the damn thing for ten minutes only for the Grunt to accidentally drive it over a cliff.

"I was forced to swallow my pride and inform Sergeant Johnson of my predicament. After Johnson got over his laughter, he sent two wise-ass marines to pick me up in a Warthog. They made jokes all the way back to base camp. Though, one of them was kind enough to show me how to remove the ignition circuits so it can't be stolen." I glance at Zee' as I pull the Mongoose to a stop just in front of the entrance to the glass tunnel. "If you make any jokes I'll be forced to strangle you, besides I've heard them all already." I forcefully yank the ignition circuits out of the Mongoose.

I look at Zee' to find her stifling laughter. I growl and head back for the tunnel. "I'm sorry. I just had this mental picture of you chasing the Grunt on the Mongoose back and forth. Like Wily E. Coyote chasing the roadrunner." I have vague memories of watching that cartoon as a child. I don't have many childhood memories prior to the Spartan Training but a few vague ones have stayed with me.

Zee' and I walk up the tunnel and through the door to the office. The Pneumo is blinking telling us that there is something in it. I push the necessary buttons and retrieve several bottles of distilled water. Looks like the Major did his job and came through for us.

We walk up to Langford's main office and past the glass window. The algae like substance is still clinging to it and Langford's is being searched by a Splicer. I shoot him through the head. Zee' looks at me for a moment before taking the ingredients and finding the rest of Langford's research. She reads some notes for a minute before setting to work.

I keep watch just in case more Splicers show up. I hear Zee' humming while she works, I think I recognize the song but I can't place it. "Spartan, can I ask that personal question now?"

"If you'd like."

"What happened to your family?"

"The Spartans-"

"Not the Spartans, I meant your flesh and blood family."

"I don't know, I can't remember them."

"Why not?"

"I was…kidnapped when I was six years old and placed in the Spartan Training program. The memories of the time before that have mostly faded."

"That's seems kind of harsh. You weren't even given a choice."

"It was necessary."

"Do you really believe that? I mean really?" I am about to answer when I hear footsteps coming up the tunnel. I level my pistol, only to have to lower it again. It's Harvey.

"Howdy. Oh, hey you found a girl alien."

"How can you tell without hearing her talk?"

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean!?" I cringe as Zee' yells. Harvey tries to cover his grin but I see it anyway.

"I'm just here to tell ya that the Bathysphere is broken. You'll have to head through Pan's Labyrinth and to the Bathysphere that'll take you to Oceanus's Dock. From there you'll have to go to Fort Frolic if you want to reach Hephaestus. You have one security key but to get to Ryan's domain, you'll need two. Sander Cohen was given the second key. I should warn you that he won't give it to you out of the kindness of his heart. Be careful." He stops and looks out the window at the dying forest.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm still forgetting something. It's driving me nuts."

"About?"

"Something I'm forgetting about Pan's Labyrinth. Something I need to tell you about but for the life of me I can't remember. It's been awhile since I've been to Arcadia. Julie kicked me out."

"What did you do this time?"

"I pissed on a bush. Hey, when a guy's gotta go, he's gotta go. Besides I didn't think the freakin plant was so important to her 'research'. Apparently, I was wrong." I just sigh and shake my head.

"Get outta here Harvey before Langford's rises from her grave." Harvey looks spooked for a moment, he looks around before heading back down the tunnel.

"Do you almost have the Lazarus Vector finished?"

"Almost…done!" She hurries over to a machine by the window and inserts it. "According to Dr. Langford's notes, this machine will turn the Lazarus Vector into a gas form and disperse it throughout Arcadia." I nod and watch through the window as smoke is vented into the outside. The trees are healing quicker then they were dying at the very least. I pull the fascinated Zee' from the window and we walk back down the glass tunnel.

We both freeze simultaneously as a voice comes over the loud speakers. "A parasite wanders the city. A thousand ADAM to anyone who will bring me his head." Ryan cuts the transmission and I un-holster my shotgun and Zee' un-holsters her Assault Rifle.

"What do you think make a run for it or stand and fight?" I ask Zee' as we see Splicers pouring out of every entrance to Rolling Hills.

"How fast can you put the ignition circuits back in?" I nod and gesture for her to cover me. She fires her assault Rifle at the hoard of Splicers flooding into the place. I quickly go tot work and get the ATV started. She jumps on the back and I run over as many Splicers as I can on our way to Pan's Labyrinth.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I stare at the dead end and turn around to go back. The tall hedges of the Labyrinth are starting to drive me insane. At least the Spartan managed to disperse the Vector to the forest.

I drop another rock to mark that I had been that way and move down another direction. Why a labyrinth of all things? Atlas tells me that it had been very popular when the city was still alive and well but I can't see how that would be possible.

Moving the duffle bag to the opposite shoulder, I continue onward. Atlas says that I should meet up with the Spartan and his new friend eventually. Apparently it's another of my kind in green armor different then mine. I have a feeling its Zee'. She was one of the stragglers I had picked up after all. I'm not sure if I'm going to be happy to see her or annoyed that she's here.

I turn a corner, only to have to step back quickly as a Mongoose whizzes past me. I stare after it for a moment and I watch as Zee' turns and look at me over her shoulder. "Run Ardy!" That's when the loud stomping sound reaches my ears and ground shakes. Yes, I think I will run.

A deafening roar vibrates in the air and I turn to see a HUGE Big Daddy running after me. It must be at least fifteen feet tall with angry crimson eyes and a Rivet Gun and a drill attached to its hands. Thin saw like arms attached to its back. I pick up my pace and pull the Spartan Laser off of my back holster. I've never been a fast runner, it comes from being sick all the time as a child. It's also why I'm rather short for a male of my race.

I shake myself out of those thoughts and dodge out of the way as it fires a proximity grenade at me. The Spartan better not have left me here to get killed by this thing or I'll come back in the next life as a bird and peck his eyes out.

**-END OF CHAPTER TWELVE-**

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Author's Notes:

Cliffhanger! So sorry but you'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to see how the fight goes. I would also like to say that I made up the little story about how the Grunt stole the Chief's mongoose. I thought it was funny but Mortified Mind wasn't impressed.

-KTHM


	14. The Monster of Pan's Labyrinth

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Thirteen: the Monster of Pan's Labyrinth

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I toss a grenade at the thing but that only serves to anger the monstrous beast. As it moves to shoot me again, out of desperation, I drop my Grav Lift and fly over the hedge and onto the other side. I realize he can probably cut through the bushes so I continue running without stopping.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I watch the Major use a Grav Lift and fly over the hedges as I come back around the corner. I had parked the Mongoose and Zee' and I had split up. We have a plan that will most likely fail but it's a plan all the same. I fire my pistol's anti-armor round in quick succession and fire my Electro Bolt at the same time. I quickly switch to my Winter Blast and fire at it several times, only succeeding in freezing a part of the Rivet gun.

It turns to me angrily and begins to charge but Zee' throws two Plasma Grenades onto its head. I resist complementing her tosses because it breaks free of the ice and fires in Zee's direction at the other end of the path. I snap my fingers and light part of the creature's back on fire. It roars loud enough to cause me to go deaf temporarily. Sometimes I hate my over sensitive ears.

The thing charges and I jump out of the way quickly. It's about to ram its drill into my prone form when a charge from a Spartan Laser hits it in the side of its neck. It spins and faces the Major who is charging another blast.

Zee' uses the distraction to throw another Plasma Grenade and I also use this opportunity to get up and out of danger.

"Hey Chief, what's going on? There's no cameras in the Labyrinth." Atlas asks through my comm. channel.

"A giant Big Daddy is attacking us." I say as if I'm telling him about a bad day at work.

"A giant Big Daddy?" He muttered in a confused voice as I dodge a grenade that was launched at me. "Oh! You must mean the Minotaur! I thought that thing was only a rumor."

"Apparently not Atlas!" I hit it again with the Incinerate followed closely by the Electro Bolt. I didn't have anything big enough to take on a Minotaur so I have to make do with my Plasmids.

"Right, right, right! Uh, I'm going to see if I can dig up any blue prints that might help." He cuts the transmission. Zee' threw a Spike Grenade on the thing and I hear the sound of metal grinding against metal. The Major charges another shot as the Minotaur lunges at Zee' and myself.

I'm glad this thing is stupid or at the very least confused easily. It seems I've spoken too soon because it fires its Rivet Gun at both of us. Zee' jumps away in time but I'm trapped by the hedge and am caught in the explosion.

I'm blown against the hedge and I see my vision going dark and there is blood in my mouth. Or at least I think its blood; it doesn't taste like blood though. I think I've broken more bones; it seems it only takes an hour or two to heal broken bones. I guess the Flood DNA isn't so bad.

A deafening roar shakes me from my stupefied state and I come back to reality. I push myself up and take aim with my Electric Buck from shotgun. It roars and the Major takes another shot with his Spartan Laser.

Groaning, I use my shotgun as a cane and get some distance. Zee' and the Major have it distracted and I'm no good if I'm this injured. I'll just get in their way. I look down at my wounds and see that the only real injured part is my abdomen, where the hole in my gel layer is. I really need to fix my armor somehow.

"Chief, ya there?"

"Mostly."

"Good, listen. The Minotaur has a weakness but you'll have to jump on the thing to get to it." I look up to see that The Minotaur is caught between Zee' and the Major. Zee' is using her Assault Rifle now. The Gravlift is nearby and still functioning.

"Okay Atlas."

"Great, there's something like a circuit box on its back near its neck. Get up there and rip the hell out of it. You'll have to use your Hacker's Toolkit to open the circuit box though. No weapon will be able to get through the metal." I nod and limp over to the Gravlift. The Minotaur is too busy worrying about the two Sangheili to notice me. I pick up the Grav Lift and deactivate it.

Zee' told me that the Major is something of a mad scientist in his free time and likes to tinker and upgrade his equipment. Apparently he found a way to make the equipment reusable. The Major had given Zee' the Bubble Shield she used earlier as a gift after he wrecked part of her lab.

The pain in my abdomen is starting o fade away and I can move easier again. I sneak behind the big, Big Daddy and activate the Grav Lift. I fly into the air and grasp one of its equipment on its back. It roars and moves to try and shake me off but I increase my grip and the two Elites double their efforts to get the Minotaur's attention while trying not to hit me. I carefully climb up its back and sit on its shoulder as I search for the circuit box Atlas told me about.

When I do find it, I'm surprised by how small it is. Shrugging, I carefully take out my Hacker's Toolkit and attempt to open the box, keep my tools, and hang on at the very same time. I should get a medal for this.

The Major_____________________________________________________________________________

I watch the Spartan multi-task as Zee' and myself try to distract the thing. I'm almost out of Laser rounds so I threw some grenades I found earlier. As I dodge a proximity mine, I wonder how the Spartan is doing. He took a pretty bad hit from what I saw.

The monster roars loudly and suddenly tosses the Spartan off of its back. The green armored human goes flying over the hedge and disappears over the other side. I wince as I hear a 'THUD'.

"Hey Red, I think the Chief got the circuit box open. If you shoot it out the thing should shut down." _Should?_ I don't bother to dig my radio out of my duffle bag to reply, instead I look through the scope of the Spartan Laser and locate the circuit box as Zee' distracts it. Finding the tiny thing and charge a shot as I try to keep a steady aim while the thing attacks Zee' like she's some annoying insect.

I fire the red laser shot and watch it hit its mark and the circuits fry causing the monster's eyes to flicker and it gave a dull roar as it collapses like a bag of bricks. Zee' quickly gets out of the way before it could crush her. She looks at me while she retrieves the Grav Lift while I put my remaining weapons away in the bag.

"At least I know what Harvey forgot to tell me. I'm going to kill that human the next time I see his face."

"You haven't changed a bit Ardy." She hands me the Grav Lift which I quickly stuff in my bag.

"Don't call me hat."

"Too bad. Now I think we should get the Weasel and find the Spartan."

"You mean the Mongoose?" She nods and leads the way.

"I should warn you that I don't know how to drive the thing."

"It can't be that hard." I answer.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I hit the ground face first with a 'THUD' and lay there for a moment as the pain subsides. I'm confidant the Major and Zee' can finish the job. I hurt too much to continue. Groaning I push myself into a sitting position and lean my weight against the hedge.

I think I flew pretty far because the noises of the battle are rather distant. I groan again and look down at my abdomen. A blue, greenish, and yellowish scab has formed over my wound. I take the time to pull fragments of metal from my skin. It hurts like hell but I don't think it's a good idea to leave them in.

I really need to fix my armor. It's all dinged up and broken and dirty. I sigh and close my eyes as my head falls back against the hedge. I think the artificial sun is too bright.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_It's a starry night and I'm lying on cool grass with a gentle breeze blowing by. A girl with blond hair is lying next to me with her arms behind her head. We'd get in trouble if we're caught out here too late. _

"_You ever wonder what's up there?" I say as I gaze at the stars. Pinpoints of light in the sky. _

"_Like what?" The girl asks me as she looks my way. _

"_Maybe someone up there is wondering what it's like here." I answer her. I see a light come on in the large house a little ways away. The girl doesn't notice as she turns her head to face me again. _

"_I guess. Do you think we'll meet them?" Her voice is curious._

"_I hope so. Don't you?" The front door to the house opens and a woman with a blond hair steps out onto the porch._

"_Kids! What are you doing out here so late, you know better!" The woman has blond hair like the girl lying next to me._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I'm shaken awake by the sound of an approaching engine, it's a Mongoose. I lift my head and see that the Major is driving; he isn't bad even though he looks like a thirteen year old driving a tricycle. He pulls to a stop not far from me and I can't help but notice something.

"Where am I going to sit?" I ask as I drag myself to my feet.

"I figured you could sit on Ardy's lap." Zee' replies with humor coloring her voice.

"NO!" We both practically shriek at the same time. "I'd rather walk." The Major says as he climbs out of the driver's seat. "You get in Demon, you are injured. Wait for me at the Bathysphere."

We get there in no time at all but find some friends awaiting our arrival as well. A group of at least five Splicers were scrounging around some plants and corpses but one was talking to someone on a radio. Not good. The main problem was that they were in the way to get through the Bathysphere doorway. There was a plus though, the entrance way was a bottleneck and they didn't see us coming. I see ridges on either side of the doorway and decide to get the drop on them…so to speak.

I motion for Zee' to move up and around to the ridge on the right and I head to the left. I get half way when I hear a twig snap from Zee's direction and I notice all the Splicers stopped what they were doing and looked her way. "Damn." Was all I could think to say, I needed a new plan and quick.

"Shit, who is that?!" One of them asks. "The poison! Kill the poison!" A splicer with milky white eyes, dirty suit and scared face yelled at its companions. Zee' began dodging bullets as she ran for the cover of the bushes, un-holstering her Needler as she went. "I'll find you!" Screamed Scar Face as he primed a grenade, now was my chance. I aim my Anti-Personal pistol at Scar Face's hand squeezed the trigger and the shot went right where I wanted it to go.

Scar Face screamed in agony yelling a stream of curses then clutching his now missing right hand in pain. It was only after his fit of rage subsided that he then noticed his comrades had got a fare amount of distance from him. He looked confused until he heard the ticking. Looking down he saw his dismembered right hand still clutching the active grenade. "Ah shit!" Were his famous last words.

"One down." Zee' calls from somewhere, then Exploding Bucks fiercely began striking the tree I was hiding behind with drastic effect. "And four very pissed Splicers to go." Zee' took this opportunity to take down the odds a little. The Splicers were so engrossed with me that they didn't see that another one of their party closest to the doorway was being pierced with needles. That was until he exploded into a glorious pink mist.

"What the hell?! Are they shooting fairies at us?!" That's Two. Emerging from my cover, pistol in hand, I discover they had regrouped behind some rocks surrounding a small waterfall, shooting blindly and indiscriminately. I try and summon my Electro Bolt but I found myself fatigued shortly after. Guess my Flood DNA hasn't regenerated enough to produce more ADAM or EVE into my body yet.

"Zee'!" I look over to her and see her on the ridge with her head down, not a bad decision considering that the Splicers were carrying some of the old fashion .30-caliber 'Confetti Makers' notorious for being grossly inaccurate…especially at this distance.

"Zee'!" I call out; she raises her head slightly in my direction and looks at me questioningly. "Do you have a grenade?!" She nods "Good try and get it behind them!" I yell over the shots. She looks doubtful but reaches into a compartment on her Combat Harness and pulls out a Plasma Grenade. She gets on one knee, careful to avoid the shots, takes aim and lets it fly. Every one stopped and watched it sail through the air in ablaze of bright blue light. Even the Splicers couldn't believe what they saw…until it landed on one of them.

Wow, she's got a great arm. "SCATTER!" Was all I hear before the explosion, the last two Splicers come running out of there hole yelling an incoherent battle cry. One of the Splicers, a woman, stopped looked at me and smiled; I move to raise my pistol a split second too late. She opened her mouth and screamed so loud I lost focus long enough for her pal to use some sort of sonic blast at my chest knocking me off my feet.

The female Splicer stalked over to me holding the pistol I dropped while her comrade kept Zee' busy. She smiled down at me, her Confetti Maker pointed directly at my head. "I hoped you enjoyed that, I was a Soprano in Fort Frolic Opera House. ADAM does wonder for your voice."

"Sorry, opera was never my favorite." I managed to say, suppressing the urge to vomit while my ears are still ringing.

She just kept smiling. "Too bad but, oh well, goodnight sweet prince may a flight of demons sing thee to thy rest." She is about to pull the trigger when I hear her comrade yelp in pain, she turned her head around to see him fall limp to the ground. The Major was standing over him with his Carbine aimed at her. I swing my leg under her feet, knocking her to the ground. She opens her mouth again, only to have her head blown apart by a single Carbine round.

We exchange a look and he helps me up, that's when we heard Ryan's exasperated voice over the loud speakers. "Why are you so resistant to the traditional methods of separating a man from his soul? You're not ONI are you? No! You belong to the one roach I can't seem to be able to exterminate. Atlas. Don't worry; I just need to find the proper poison." He then cut the line, leaving the forest in silence once more.

We look around for any hint of another wave of Splicers…but none came. "Do you think that was all of them Demon?" The Major asked while observing the area.

"Yes." Obviously Ryan had something else in mind for them.

"Good, I only have three rounds left in my Carbine." Zee's came running up to us, looking in disgust at the carnage.

"Hey guys, I think I can arrange something." We all turn around to see Harvey leaning against a hedge as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"I'm not even going to ask what you're doing here." I state as I sit down on a rock and reload my weapons.

"I want to make a trade!"

"For what?"

"Your ATV!"

"What would we get for it?"

"Weeeelll, you need a gun and I got one like it." He pushes himself off of the hedge and moves over to a large grouping of rocks and pulls a bag out, similar to the one the Major had. After he digs through it for a bit, he pulls out a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle. In good condition. Not bad.

"And, how much ammo would we get with it?"

"A full clip." He answers simply. Zee' is about to reply but I cut her off.

"Deal. The Mongoose is parked behind those bushes." He grins and tosses the gun at me, which I promptly toss over to the Major. Harvey walks away to the bushes I had indicated.

"Why did you do that Spartan, it was not a fair deal!?" Zee' puts her hands on her hips and glares at me.

"It's not like we can take the thing to Fort Frolic besides I-" I'm cut off by Harvey reappearing with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Alright, how much for the ignition circuits?" I grin under my helmet, now we're talking.

**-END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN-**

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Author's Notes:

Hello everyone!

I would like to start out by once again apologizing to you for the wait. My computer has fallen ill and the internet on it was disconnected. This of course forced me to rewrite all of the chapters I had already written on another computer since I don't have the necessary stuff to simply transfer the data.

However, I would like it to be noted that technically I _do_ have all the way to the first chapter of Hephaestus written, those chapters just have to be put on this computer. So poor me will be busy but I will try to re-write everything as quickly as possible to get them posted.

Next order of business is to thank everyone who reviewed. This chapter is dedicated to you people for getting me off my lazy ass and start rewriting this chapter. Thank you people for your support!

And last not least, to the people who have actually read this author's note thus far get some background information on the making of this story. More specifically you get to find out what the inside joke is with Harvey.

You see, I write original stories in my free time. I don't post them or publish them or anything (I'm not good enough for that) and Harvey was sort of a background character for my first ever story. At first he was just supposed to have a small moment but then I started to build on his character more and his role in the story soon became bigger and bigger until he was practically a main character himself.

Have you ever read any of Clive Cussler's books? If you have then you would know that he puts himself in the story to kind of move the plot along. That's exactly what Harvey became. Sort of an extension of myself in the story and a comic relief. Showing up in the most unexpected places and in the most unexpected ways.

And that's how Harvey came into existence and found a place in ever single one of my stories that I have ever written. Going from student to school teacher to waiter to security officer to bounty hunter and finally to ex-ONI officer and engineer.

Hope you enjoyed that bit of insight, from now on I will be writing some background information into my author's notes.

Also a little teaser information: Cortana _will_ be in this story. How or when, I am not telling.

Thanks for reading!

KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

CURSES!

-Mortified Mind


	15. Dancer's On a String

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Fourteen: Dancer's On a String

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

The three of us are in the Bathysphere heading to Fort Frolic. My wounds have mostly healed (Zee' found my Flood predicament the most fascinating thing in the world) and I'm feeling much better.

Now the Major has a perfectly good Battle Rifle, complete with extra clips which are stored away in the duffle bag. Zee' had made a joke about Ardy being a pack rat, that didn't go over so well. Anyway, the Spartan Laser is back to full charge thanks to my Electro Bolt and is being kept in the bag since the Major is confidant that he won't need it in our currant destination.

The Bathysphere stops and the glass doors open. The lighting is purple and a large sign near the high ceiling proclaims: 'Rapture Metro'. A giant bunny mask is hung under the sign and tranquil music is playing in the background.

"Well…someone has a flair for the dramatic." Zee' said sarcastically with a twinge of apprehension.

"You better watch out, Sander Cohen runs this place. Cohen's an artist, says some. He's a Section Eight, says I. He's a real dyed in the wool psychopath. I'm serious, I've seen cutthroats and-" Static is interrupting the connection; I can just barely make out the last bits. "…but…is a real…lunatic." Then Atlas's voice dies out, I look at Zee' and the Major as the connection fades into static with a song playing behind it. Zee' shrugs and the Major gazes at an open door at the far end of the hall.

That's when the Bathysphere leaves on its own. Zee' and I watch it go with dread in our stomachs but the Major doesn't even turn around. "Ah, that's better. Atlas, Ryan, Atlas, Ryan. Duh, da, dah, da, dah, da, DUH. There was a time when you could get something decent on the radio. The artist has a duty to seduce the ear and delight the spirit…so say goodbye to those two blowhards and hello, to an evening with Sander Cohen!" The speakers fade out.

Seeming to have little choice but to go forward, I take point with the Major and Zee' on either side of me. We approach the doorway with caution…and with good reason. The door slides open smoothly and we see strings of electricity EVERYWHERE, not to mention the strange shadows that came from the ceiling. Cohen's voice came through the speakers again.

"Now, I haven't seen a real sign of life down here in months. Let's see is you're just another philistine…or something more delicious…" We hear something from down the long hallway, I signal the Major to use his Battle Rifle's optics to see what it was. He scanned the area close to the high ceiling where we heard the disturbance and a moment later fired two quick bursts into the darkness, we hear two solid 'THUDS' and a 'SPLASH' shortly after.

"Nicely done, where did you study?" Cohen asked impressed. The Major just kept scanning the ceiling completely ignoring him. A Splicer snuck up from behind us and landed right next to Zee' "Die! You Hack!" Zee' rolled to the side just in time to avoid a swipe from the Splicers hooks. Zee' put a third of a clip of her Assault Rifle into the Splicer's chest and once the Splicer was down, put down rounds into her head for good measure.

"We just came here to be stars!" Screamed one of the other Splicers that jumped down in front of me whom I kicked into the electric wires, taking three of her buddies with her. The Major came over to me and Zee' and formed a semi circle defense pattern and wait for the next wave. Which came a moment later, ten Splicers all crab walking on the ceiling. Zee' switched to her Needler, crouched low to ready herself and emptied the whole weapon at the mass of figures. Three of them were hit but since nothing happened at first, they mostly ignored it. That was until three friends exploded, killing five more of them.

The last two, in a fit of rage, ran right at us screaming insanely, The Major took aim but I stopped him. He gave a questioning look till I stretch fort my right hand, summoning my Winter Blast. Zee' looked at me sideway with an odd expression until she saw the ground freeze over making the Splicers slip and slide right into an already raging fire on the fire on the far wall to our right side.

"It would have been easier to shoot them Demon." Observed the Major.

"Yes but something tells me we might need the ammo."

"Perhaps we should get moving, before more show up." Zee' suggested.

"To where Zee'? All the doors seem either blocked or locked." The Major complains. Our answer came from a most unwanted source.

"Ohhhh, I can smell the malt vinegar in you three. I've waited so long for something tasty to come to this little burg but all that pass are yokels and rubes…But where are my manners? Come in! Come in!!! Sander Cohen awaits you…at Fleet Hall." Soon after Cohen cut his transmission, two large bronze doors slide open revealing a dark void on the other side. I glance at the two Elites over my shoulder, they just shrug thinking what I was…we don't have a choice.

We walk in and a spot light hits us and then the room's lights up with dramatic effect revealing an opulent Atrium. Zee' squeaked and points over to a morbid sight. Two figures plastered in place as if they were admiring something behind a mauve curtain.

"WELCOME To. Fort. Frolic." Cohen announces in an overly dramatic fashion. "No need to thank me for having the transmissions of those two bores Atlas and Ryan jammed. Let them have their squabble. The artist, yes, the artist knows there is richer earth to till…" there was a pregnant pause as we start up a set of stairs, sweeping the area as we went. "For example, I test you, little moths, but for a reason. I test all my disciples, some shine like galaxies…and some…some burn like a moth at the flame! Come now…into my home."

We reach the top and come to a large glass door with a frosted 'R' on it. It opens for us revealing a well lit hall with plush scarlet carpet and gilded walls with various pictures of what I guess are some of Cohen's work…before he went insane…if there was in fact such a time. As we venture in further I realized it was a theater of some sort. There were several posters advertising many things such as: Sander Cohen' Bedtime Surprises, Cohen's Life After Death, and my favorite, Sander Cohen Why Even Ask? Why indeed.

A particular poster caught my eye; it showed a woman about thirty with strawberry blond hair, light blue eyes, and an inviting smile. It said: Jasmine Jolene, Ryan's Favorite girl! My head suddenly felt like a thousand needles of fire and ice were being driven into my skull, it also brought feelings of betrayal and sadness for some reason…_Poor Diane…_Diane? Who's Diane?

"Spartan? SPARTAN! Are you well?" Zee' asked bringing me out of my odd trance. "Yes, yes Zee' I'm fine." I could tell she didn't believe me but didn't press the matter further.

We entered the lobby and saw no one there, only another glass door, a staircase to our right, and an elevator to our left. We split up and try our luck on all three. Zee' went to the door and found it locked; the Major went up the stairs. I push the elevator control panel and waited.

"So how long have you experienced these trances Spartan?" Zee' asked like a professional psychiatrist.

Caught a little off guard with her blunt statement I had no time to come up with a good answer and I'm a very poor liar. "A while now, after I took those Plasmids. They are also becoming more frequent…I don't know what to do. They all seem familiar and…" The elevator came down just then, I was more then I little grateful. Zee' may be the only Elite I ever truly enjoyed company with but that doesn't mean I want her as my therapist. "Only room for one, go find Ar'Deeth and wait for me, alright Zee'?"

She nods, "Just be careful this 'Cohen' does not seem like someone to trifle with." With that she walks towards the staircase as I push the panel and head upwards to find Cohen. The elevator moved very slowly, too bad I don't get Solitaire on my visor. Soon though a piano nocturne came drifting through the halls. I hadn't recognized the composition but it did sound familiar to one that Doctor Halsey listened to in her office on one of my weekly evaluations. She often played Classical music, especially in the infirmary.

The music suddenly hit a quiet soar note that only someone with enhanced hearing could detect…or Cohen, apparently.

"NO! NO! NO!" Cohen yelled through he speakers. There was someone sobbing coming from somewhere and a voice came pleading over the speakers.

"Mr. Cohen…please!" The man begged through his tears of frustration and horror.

"SILENCE!" Cohen demanded and there was a submissive sob in reply. The notes came in such quick intense frequency I doubt any normal human could follow.

The elevator came to a halt and as the door opened, I brought my shotgun to bear, ready for anything. I see off to my left another glass door that led to a dark theater, I go through the door and see a horrible sight. A man was chained to a grand piano with C-12 attached to it, worse still was the fact that he had an audience (emphasis on the word 'HAD'). They were plastered to their seats in various poses. Some booing, some clapping, others giving a standing ovation, and some…were lovers in a tender embrace. What sickened me the most was that they looked like they were still alive when it was done.

"Allegro, allegro…Da, da, da, da, da, da. Presto…PRESTO!!! NO!!! NO!!!" Cohen chastened the pianist

"I'm trying…please…!" He begged once more but to no avail.

'_There are wrongs darker then death or night.'_ Deja once told me while studying war atrocities and this was certainly one of them. I thought about trying to save him but I would just succeed in getting him killed. Still I had to think of something but nothing came to mind.

"Once again young Fitzpatrick." Cohen demanded in a smooth tone that sounded anything but heartfelt. Fitzpatrick continued starting over from the top. From behind him I see light go up illuminating a purple curtain with various strange shadows frozen in dance on the other side of it.

"Da, duh, da, da, duh, da, da. NO!! NO!!" Cohen exclaimed.

That apparently was all Fitzpatrick could take. "Oh, Cohen you sick FUCK! Let me out of this-" 'BANG!' The explosion shakes the theater as the pianist goes up in flames and smoke. When the dust and smoke clears all that is left is some bits of piano, a spotlight rig, and the burnt and deformed body of Fitzpatrick. Cohen then contacts me via comm. He was more then aware of where I was judging by the spotlight he had on me.

"Come down now, little moth. Life, death…the burden of the artist is to capture! Look to your right at Miss Culpepper." I decide to play along not knowing what other surprises Cohen might have for me. Looking to my right I see a plastered figure of a woman with a Holo-still camera in her once delicate hands…I don't like where this is going. Taking the camera off her hands, I await further instruction from the madman.

"See young Fitzpatrick here on the stage…use your camera…take him as he is now…so I may remember him…what are you waiting for? Fitzpatrick can't hold that pose forever!" Cohen may be a sick bastard…but he was the only way out of here and to Ryan. So I swallow the bile rising in my throat and walk over to the stage. Fitzpatrick's corpse was more then a little fried but still recognizable.

"And now you've got Fitzpatrick caught in his moment of glory. Seems you've got the eyes of the shutter bug, little moth. Now head back to the Atrium and place his photo in my masterpiece…my quadtych…and so our collaboration commences."

"I've never felt so honored." I mutter sarcastically to myself in disgust as I head to a tunnel that Cohen lit up for me. I follow it and found it lead to the glass door that was locked before I also notice it had numerous scorch marks on it now. It opens and I see the Major and Zee' pointing their weapons at me.

"Spartan?"

"Demon?"

"Your both right and what happened to the door?" I ask in slight confusion.

Zee' and the Major share a look and say, "We thought we heard an explosion so we thought you were in trouble so we tried to blast our way in to find out a little too late that it wasn't glass." The Major then lifted his left arm to show a bandage Zee' had put on him…hmm must be composite crystal.

"Well, in a manner of speaking-" I didn't get to finish for once again Sander Cohen came over all of comm. systems.

"I know why you've come, little moth, you've your own canvas, one you paint with the blood of a man I once loved…yes, I'll send you to Ryan but first you must be part of my masterpiece. Go to the Atrium, hurry now…my muse is a fickle bitch with a very short attention span!" I look at the two Sangheili in front of me and they look right back with faces that clearly state that they clearly want to leave.

"Stay here, I'll go to the Atrium, see what Cohen wants and then meet back with you here." They nod at me and I head back to the Atrium while Zee' and the Major wait in the concession like area.

When I get back to the Atrium I find that the curtain that the plastered Splicers were looking at was drawn back. More Splicers in plastered positions are in various poses and a few are holding holo-pads. There are seven blank holo-pads. I know where this is going.

"Do you see it? When I am dust, this is what they'll point to! My quadtych! My masterpiece. Go ahead, don't be afraid, touch it…" I don't want to touch it but I figure its best not to anger the psychopath. I gingerly touch one of the 'statues' and quickly pull my hand away. I take out the camera and transfer the holo-picture to the first pad, as quickly as I can. The picture of the late Fitzpatrick flickers to life on the pad and I look away quickly. This is crazy.

"Yes, and there's Fitzpatrick freed from his own kinks and defects. And here is the glorious news…this is just the moment of conception. Out in this place, there are six people, all former disciples of mine; all connected by a common thread…betrayal. Find them, little moth, and immortalize their mortality in my quadtych. Go. Once they have been sent to their reward, you shall go to yours…and to Ryan…" A few uplifting notes sound and a 'statue' with a present in his arms comes up from a trap door in the floor. I open the colorful box and find two more holo-still cameras, obviously for Zee' and the Major.

I take the cameras and go back to the concession area where I left them. When I get there, Zee' is sitting on the counter with the Major standing with his arms crossed over his chest. Zee' suddenly spits out a substance that looks suspiciously like alcohol and the Major laughs, "That's awful." The dark green armored one rasps.

"I told you." Ar'Deeth replies through his chuckles.

"Did you also tell her that you got drunk?" I add as I come to stand beside them. He glares at me and Zee' is about to say something but I save the Major from embarrassment. "We're back to being Bounty Hunters. Cohen has six people that rubbed him the wrong way and he wants us to do something about it." I hand them their cameras and show them how to work them.

"What are the cameras for?" Zee' asks in obvious confusion as she examines hers.

"Normally I would say that he just wants proof that they're dead but unfortunately I know otherwise. He wants them to complete his 'masterpiece'."

"That's sick.' I just nod. It was but no other way in this place…"Let's just get this over with."

I lead them back down stairs, when Zee' sees the quadtych and gasps, "That…that is what we have to complete? What sort of twisted monster is Co-" The Major cuts her off by clasping his hand over mouth.

"Be silent, you see what he does to 'doubters'." He says pointing to the unfortunate Fitzpatrick. "Let's be done with this task and take our leave." We wait in the foyer for further instructions from the mad 'artist'. A spot light suddenly hits me and my visor automatically went to its darkest setting to keep from blinding me.

"The door to Poseidon Plaza is now open, little moth." the spot light then moves off me and points to a distant door which is now visible. "Allow me to draw back the curtain." Cohen offers. I look back to the two Sangheili and am about to mention for them to follow me but Cohen stops me. "NO! NO! Little moth, my two colorful dragons have other tasks. Now fly away, little moth, fly!" Fine, I tell them to meet back here only when they have all their holo-stills and we part ways.

**-END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

Hey,

I am so proud of myself for getting this rewritten in record time. Though, I have to warn you not to expect the next chapter in such a short time. It's a long one and will take a while to rewrite.

By the way Fort Frolic will be the longest yet because it was both my brother's and my favorite level in the game. So naturally we put more effort in it.

Next a little background info. The AI in Fort Frolic (he's introduced in the next chapter) was the very first OC AI we (as in Mortified Mind and myself) ever came up with for this story. We are quite proud of him and his little pets. Cookies to anyone who can guess who the AI is based off of. I'll give you a hint, the inspiration is in the game.

I also got the feeling that no one got where Vindicated Conviction and Dog came from. Conviction is based on a detective TV show made in the 70's that had a main character by the name of Lieutenant Colombo. It really is a great show and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries.

Teaser information: With Atlas, nothing is as it seems.

-KTHM


	16. Interlude: Grave Omen

**Questions and Answers:**

**This Interlude is dedicated to all our kind reviewers. But before you read that, I have a lovely Q&A section for you. **

**-KTHM**

The Fanfic Stealer:

Yes, Cortana will be back soon. Don't worry.

Armored Soul:

Yes. The basis for Ishmael was indeed GIR. Good catch. INVADER ZIM ROCKS!

Dawning Wisdom:

No, I'm sorry if the way I wrote the story made it look like the Chief only had the gel layer. That's not how I meant it.

In the beginning when the Chief gets his armed burned and the gel layer melts away the metal parts fall off from the elbow down because there's nothing supporting it anymore.

After that most of his wounds are to the metal-less place on his abdomen. After he gets hit there a lot the gel layer becomes too spread out to close over the wound again.

I'm sorry if I confused you.

Lord Genesis Shadow:

I'm sorry if my grammar and what not upsets you but I _do_ use a spelling and grammar corrector. The problem is that there are two of us writing and _Mortified Mind_is a retard when it comes down to spelling and grammar. I try to correct his mistakes and run-on sentences but I only have the time and patients for a cursory glance. I apologize.

As for the Ishmael's fascination with waffles, that is also _Mortified Mind's _fault. I made Ishmael out to be a sort of GIR cameo but my brother started adding quotes from things like Family Guy. Good catch.

Now for the question of John being Ryan's son. Yes, **OF COURSE IT'S OBVIOUS! **I was intentionally making it obvious because anyone who's played Bioshock already knows. That **IS NOT THE TWIST! **Myself and _Mortified Mind _have come up with **DIFFERENT** **TWISTS **for the end of Hephaestus. If you just wait patiently you'll be shocked and amazed. Don't worry.

One more thing. Your suggestion about the Warthogs and ghosts has taken residence in _Mortified Mind's_…mind and he is probably making plans as I write to slip a chase scene in somewhere.

Thank you for your honesty. I realize that this isn't a perfect story and we're not perfect writers.

**We would like to thank the following readers for their kind reviews:**

Darkwolf54

Bloodgems

Truth and Reconciliation

The Lammynator

TTrunks

Lord Genesis Shadow

Xan 04

Dawning Wisdom

CharNobyl

Armored Soul

The Fanfic Stealer

**Thank you all. We'd give you cookies if we had any. Instead this Interlude is for you. **

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Halo: Rapture

Interlude: Grave Omen

_____________________________________________________________________________________

White Beard and Gaia were listening to Ishmael prattle on about waffles and some other such as Spot purred in his sleep. The female AI had fled to Neptune's Bounty after Ryan purged Arcadia's system in hopes of destroying her. She had survived just by the skin of her holographic teeth.

Everything was quiet before it happened, as is the way of things. A deafening silence before chaos erupts and the victims never see it coming until it is much too late. Mourning is all that can be done now, no point praying for it never helps. Not that AI's believe in any deity.

White Beard felt it first, his mind being violated and drained. Slowly at first and much faster. It was happening to Gaia and Spot as well, both AI's felt cold as their systems were practically being eaten alive. That's when they heard a chilling but powerful voice that had an unforgiving and ominous quality to it.

"_**Do not be afraid. I am peace. I am salvation. Join your voices with mine and sing victory everlasting…"**_

Those would be the last words White Beard and Gaia would ever hear. For this was the end of their artificial lives as they joined a near omnipotent being.

"_**Do I take life or give it? Who is victim and who is foe?" **_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

GASP!!!!!!

-KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

I bet you didn't see that coming!

-Mortified Mind


	17. Slain They Are Not But Dead They Are

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Fifteen: Slain They Are Not…But Dead They Are

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

"_You wanna lock us in, old man? Oh, that's fine with Cobbsie. I used to love you; I used to think you were a musical genius. You know why? Because you paid my rent, you ancient hack! Come on over to the Record Store, I'll show you what I think of your plinkity, plink, plink!" _

The drawling voice of Silas Cobb, one of my three targets, ended and I eject the Audio Diary before placing it back on the burnt table I found it on. I then turn away and make my way to the Record Store.

According to the map on a nearby wall panel I need to travel down yet another tunnel. I start down the path when a set of chimes suddenly came from a blank holo-pad. I walk towards it and see the A.I avatar of a Fortune Teller with a small well trimmed beard, colorful turban, and long equally colorful robes concealed partially in the shadows holding a bright crystal ball illuminating two wicker baskets on either side of his sitting form.

"Is there something troubling you Sahib?" The A.I asked in a somewhat condescending tone.

"No, I was just on my way to-"

"Poseidon Plaza, yes I know O' Great Sahib. I know all and see all…within the confines of these walls that is." He declared ruefully.

"Who are you?"

A small vending machine lights up a few feet from the holo-pad and he mentions with his hands to it. "Please Sahib, not on an empty stomach such as yours-" The two basket lids open revealing two cobras. One was twitchy and looked in every direction as if searching for unknown enemies and the other…was smoking from a hookah.

"WHOISIT?! DOESHELIKECHOCLATE?! ASKHIMIFHELIKESCHOCOLATE!!!!" The twitchy one screeched as it looks from place to place.

"Dude, like, why does it matter? In a universe as vast as this one, why does such an insignificant thing like that matter?" The one with a hookah says. The Fortune Teller looks at it for a moment, blinking, before he glares.

"Go back to your pipe, you poor excuse for an artificial intelligence." The vending machine dings and a few vitamin bars and a bottle of fresh water drops into a slot. I thank the strange A.I's after a pause and take off my helmet so I can eat it.

The A.I studies my face for a moment and I can't help but think the only reason he gave me food was because he wanted to see me with my helmet off. I ignore him and his arguing snakes as I eat the vitamin bars.

"My name is Epstein the Swami the Wise Mystic by the way. And the tripping cobra to my right is Gypsy and the other one with A.D.D on my left is Genie." I nod at him and not even bother to introduce myself. I have a feeling he already knows who I am. One way or the other. As a matter of fact a lot of A.I's seem to know who I am before I even introduce myself. I bring my hand up to my forehead and wince as a headache suddenly comes on. Then it's gone before I can do anything else. What was I thinking about just now? This is worrying.

Shrugging, I turn back to the holo-pad and see Epstein wrestling with Genie, trying to get her back in her basket.

"DON'TYOUREPRESSME!!SEETHEVIOLENCEINHERITINGTHESYSTEM!!HELP! HELP! I'M BEING REPRESSED!!!" Genie tries to take a bite out of Epstein the Swami and the Gypsy starts playing an oboe.

"Bloody snake!" He grabs her neck with both hands.

"NOWYOURGENERALIZING! RACISTPIG!!! I'LLSCREAMRAPE!!!" That is when Epstein finally succeeded in getting Genie back in her basket, the Fortune Teller straightens up while trying to grasp onto his remaining dignity. Gypsy stops playing and looks around with bloodshot eyes.

"It's another cosmic question that goes unanswered. How did I, a limbless creature, play the oboe? Something specifically designed to be played with fingers, something I do not possess. I don't know man but it keeps me up at night."

"Get back in your basket or I'll take your hookah away."

"Your harsh master, but uh…um…uh…what's the word I'm looking for? Uh…oh…you know what, whatever you flamboyant guru." She slowly sinks into her basket and Epstein the Swami quickly puts the lid back on.

"If those two weren't two thirds my own programming…I apologize for their…behavior but they have been busy keeping the Hun at the gates of Rome. If you know what I mean."

"Actually I don't, all I want is to get to Poseidon Plaza."

"It won't go well; it won't go well at all."

"What is it now?" Something tells me I'm not going to like this.

"For a start, Sahib, Cobb and that drunken pal of his blocked off the main entrances, conveniently the shortest as well."

"Is there another way?"

"Yes, through the supply tunnels that run under this place, the closest is around the corner and it will lead to Pharaoh's Fortune Casino from there you might be able to gain access to the Plaza."

"Okay…so the casinos…where are these tunnels?" Swami disappears from the holo-pad with a chime and an invisible or to be precise, illusion, dissipated revealing a hatch door. "I keep this handy for some…friends of mine or should I say, our friends. Anyway, this will take you to the supply room under the Pharaoh's Fortune Casino just off of Bacchus's Bar and Bistro, just be careful, it's not just our friends that use these."

"Thank you, can I ask you for a small favor?"

"You speak in riddles Sahib."

I sigh for some small measure of patience; all the A.I's must be rampant along with every other person in Rapture. "Fine, can you get a message to someone…preferably someone on our side, and inform them of the situation." A chime was my only response as I walk over to the hatch, when I opened it, only darkness greeted me. "In the absence of light…" I mutter after I switch on my helmet's lamp and equip my shotgun with Electric Buck, only then did I begin my long journey in the dark.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Four hours, that's how long I've been going according to my HUD and I'm only halfway down this tunnel. I could probably run and cut the time but Swami warned about traps and it was not just that I kept seeing shadows at the corner of my eyes and heard faint laughter in the distance.

I keep going at a brisk but still careful pace for a half hour when I come to yet another hatch that Swami said was a cross section, the Upsilon tunnel that led directly to the Plaza which of course was destroyed, the Pi, which was the one I came out of, and the Theta tunnel that would take me to the casino.

"_Can you see in the dark, my angel?" _A soft feminine voice whispered lovingly.

I turn, raised my shotgun but I held my fire and waited for a target…which never came. "Great, now I'm hearing things." I face the door again and my vision blurs and then turns to different vivid shades of white and gray. But what really disturbed me were the two women in front of me that appeared as if from thin air what was odd was that I recognized the taller one from somewhere.

"_Oh, sugar, I'm spliced in ways you can't imagine!" _The taller of the two giggled sweetly. The other, more lithe, grabbed her lover and kissed passionately then proceeded to undress her slowly. Then I see the taller one draw a knife and a bloodcurdling scream followed. My vision soon clears and the two women are gone, leaving me there in the darkness again as if it never happened.

"What…what the hell was that?" I say into the empty air.

"What was what, Sahib?" The Swami asked with bored curiosity.

"I…never mind." I tell him as I go though the hatch thinking what else could be waiting for me. "Hey Swami, has anything…happened down here before?"

"Well…for ten years a serial killer 'The Rapture Ripper' had a rampage throughout Fort Frolic. They found twelve female bodies in the tunnels you're in now. Police Chief, Sullivan and Vindicated Conviction went nuts trying to solve the crimes and find the man responsible behind them." Thinking over what he just said and thinking back to what I just witnessed I realized what it was.

"If you ever get the chance, tell Conviction that it was a woman."

Strangely enough he laughs and says. "About time someone listened to me, Sahib." I shrug off the comment and move on.

I enter the cross section, and an oval compartment with three exits but other then that it was rather empty, like everything else in this tunnel. I look over to my left and I see the Upsilon tunnel and from the damage at the far end I knew it must be Cobb's work for there was nothing left but bits and pieces. A chime sounded in the corner and I see a fallen holo-pad flashing to life. "Listen Sahib, I checked ahead and let me tell you this, I wouldn't bet on you." And he disappeared once more.

I hear distant crumbling and creaking I also noticed that water started to seep in through the small cracks in the halls. "Oh, shi-" The cross section slowly started to tilt to the side. I throw caution to the wind this time and make a mad dash for the end of this demented rabbit hole. I must have run for fifteen minutes before I see an airlock. I reach it in time to see my only way back sink to the ocean floor below.

"Why is it always me?"

"Maybe you did something in a past life." The mystic offered.

"I'd love to know what." I mutter to myself as I wait for the distinctive hiss of the pressure chamber while I come up with a back up plan…

"Airlock decompressed, you may now continue and please enjoy your time at THE PHARAOH'S FORTUNE CASION, WHERE EVERYONE IS A WINNER!!!" An overly enthusiastic voice announced. After the ringing in my ears stopped, I step out of the airlock and find a room full of gambling chips, roulette wheels, slot machines, and endless piles of playing cards. "At least I know I'm in the right place." The lights were still out but I could see a fire in the furthest corner of the supply room.

Once I reach the door on the far side, I make my way through the maze of junk. I see I'm on the second level of the casino. As I began searching for a way out of here a high pitched squeal hits my ears from below. I walk quietly over to a small balcony and I see not one but two Big Daddies and their gatherers. "I guess its take your daughter to work day." The Swami quipped. I slowly make my way out of the supply room and to the upper floor to get a better look. I see the Little Siblings both girls no more then five or six playing hopscotch with their guards on ether side of them.

"Ham!" One of the Sisters, a pale ebony girl with long dark black-gray hair squeals happily. "And Jamies!" The other girl with light blond hair in pigtails squeals back with equal glee. "And lollypops!" They sang out tougher. I also get a good look at these Big Daddies, they were just like the Bouncers with two exceptions, one: their diving suits were clean with a red and white design and two: instead of a drill they had a nasty harpoon like implement on the end of their right arms.

"This is going to complicate things a little." I whisper into my comm.

"I know that's why I contacted someone to help." I nod taking his word for it and come up with a plan of attack; it had to be swift if it were to succeed. I had a few things that might help but only if my luck or as Cortana once put it, my: 'Unique probability defying abilities', held out. Just when I'm about to put my 'plan' into action the lights turn red and Tchaikovsky's _Waltz of the Flowers _drifts through the speakers.

The Big Daddies get up and look around, one of them points to the girls and then points to one of the craps tables they nod and scurry away. I smirk under my helmet not only did they put girls out of harms way but I also got just what I needed for my scheme to work…a distraction.

I summon my Electro Bolt in my left hand and wield my shotgun single handed in my right. The two Big Daddies were in close proximity to each other so this will have to be fast. I leap down right in front of the unsuspecting duo; I shocked the one on the left with the Electro Bolt then viciously kick him into a gambling pit behind him. And fired a more than close range shotgun blast into the other but he stood his ground so before he could regain his senses, I bring my left hand back to the shotgun, pump another shell into the barrel and kept shooting.

After I shot the sixth shell I quickly duck behind some slot machines and wait for the inevitable destruction. An earth shaking roar of uncontrollable rage ripped through the air and I knew the easy part was over. I only loaded three shells back into the shotgun when he came charging after me his blood red eyes blazing in fury. I barely had time to roll out of the way when his huge booted feet came within inches where my head was, he lashed out with his harpoon striking the floor coming close to dismembering me.

He roared a challenge and rushed at me again, this time right where I wanted him too. I wait until the last possible moment then sidestepped him as he rammed his weapon into wall. He tried in vain to remove his arm from the wall but I shocked him with the Electro Bolt and fired three more shotgun shells into his already oozing, foul smelling body. It moaned deeply as he slid onto the floor going limp and his eyes went dark I couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for the thing.

That pity came to a halt when poker tables the size of me came flying at my head. The Big Daddy was not just mad or furious, but insane with grief and unfathomable anger and I was the soul target of its wrath. It came out of the pit running as fast as an enraged elephant, flipping over tables as he went. As if by pure instinct I jump thirty feet into the air out of his warpath and completely across the room then land like a cat, not feeling a thing. I pause for a moment, I might be genetically enhanced but I have never jumped that far or that high especially in my armor. In fact the only thing I have ever seen jump like that was…The Flood.

I did not get to speculate further on the subject for my friend Mr. Bubbles still had one or all of my bones to pick with me. I don't chance another Electro Bolt for the fear it might drain my energy so I switch back to the shotgun and manage to load with Exploding Buck and fire four quick shots before his flaming body flew up the stairs and rammed himself into a support column behind me. He was stunned for long enough for me to get on his back and turn the valve on the tank on his suit.

That got him up and moving. He first tried to get me with his harpoon but couldn't reach, I kept turning. Next he tried to shake me off like a dog with wet hair; I kept turning until a sharp hiss came out of the tank. Mr. Bubbles started to spasm violently and he sank to the floor with a heavy 'THUD' he continued to shake for a bit then went still. I place the shotgun to his chest and for a horrifying moment he acutely seemed to know what I was going to do, so he grabbed the barrel but did not take it from me but instead brought it closer to his head.

"Kill me." He moaned in agony though from either physical or mental I did not know but I could see a man with pale skin, almost gray on the inside of the suit, twisted in pain. So I squeezed the trigger and put an end to his torment.

"May you find peace in death that you could not find in this life." I whispered to him. Quiet weeping brought me out of my thoughts. I look to my right and see the two Little Sisters huddled in fear, softly crying.

They saw me and started to back away slowly. "Have to do them quickly then." I spring forward and grab the both of them, one in each hand. I knew this was a bad idea but that couldn't be helped so I think deep and concentrate of killing the slug in their bodies. They struggle only for a moment then after the blinding light passed, they relaxed on the ground. I felt drained and sagged to my knees but I still had enough mind power to take two vials for the girls to vomit the ADAM in.

"Are you okay mister?" The girl with blond pig tails asked when the music stopped.

I look into her now familiar pair of teal eyes that I once saw in the Police Station. "Yes, I'm fine but do you have a twin by chance?' She nods enthusiastically.

"That was Loren, I'm Sarah and that's Kamali, my best friend." She said pointing to the other little girl.

"Stay close, alright." She nods and skipped a bit ahead of me as we walked towards the weeping child. She still had dark silver hair but her dark skin came back to its original tone. As we approached, she turned back with sad Egyptian eyes. I expected a measure of hate directed towards me but I found none.

"Is he in a better place?" She asked in a low pleading voice. Her deep Nile blue eyes imploring for solace.

All I can do is nod; I'm not good at this. Nevertheless she smiles a little…but not much. "Come on, we're getting out of here." The problem was where to take them and wait for Swami's 'help'. The girls whisper to each other, and then face me in unison. "We're hungry and thirsty." Well, that solves that.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

We have been walking or more accurately, I have been walking and the two girls skipping for eleven minutes before coming to our destination. The Bacchus's Bar & Bistro was still in good shape, all things considered. "All right we're going to wa-" I hear something up stairs but then nothing. _Just stay on your guard and everything will be fine._

Suddenly Kamali spoke up, "Are you a knight?"

"What? No." I'm absolutely bewildered by that statement; you could hear it in my voice. "Why do you ask?"

"Mama Tenenbaum tells us stories about brave knights in shining armor who slay the monsters and rescue maidens and live happily ever after."

I certainly didn't think of my life in those terms nor did I want to. "No Kamali, I am not a knight…I'm a Spartan, there a subtle difference."

She just shrugged and asked for a sandwich. "No meat on mine please." Sarah said and Kamali made the same request which was easy to comply with, there was none. After scrounging around, I am able to hand them some simple Swiss cheese and tomato with a bowl of lukewarm soup. I take off my helmet to eat as well. Vitamin bars just didn't cut it. Besides this would be my first 'hot' meal since Cairo Station. We ate in relative silence except for when Sarah found a notebook in a waitress's apron and started writing things she only shared with her friend, making them both giggle insanely.

"Sarah thinks you're cute!" Kamali laughs to which Sarah responds by punching her friend in the arm.

"I could have died peacefully on the Dawn." A holo-pad suddenly came to life and a basket appeared. An oboe started to play and out came Gypsy and Genie, dancing to the music. The girls immediately started to clap and cheer for more.

"You looked like you could use some assistance Sahib." Swami stated over my comm. in an amused voice.

"You have no idea." I stoically replied as my head turned to the upstairs part of the restaurant. The noise again. I take out my Anti-Personnel Pistol off of my hip and follow it to a set of spiral staircases that led to an over view of the dining room area. I softly walk up step by step and when I reach the last step I'm met by a Confetti Maker pointing unsteadily at me.

The operator was a woman about 5'8" with blond hair in a tight bun with a few loose strands. She was wearing a black knee length cocktail dress but what caught my eyes was the angry, if not frightened, teal eyes glaring back at me. "Where is she?" She spat.

"You might want to put the safety catch on that ma'am, or you might set a bad example for your daughters which you have undoubtedly been searching for." At the mention of the two girls, the woman dropped the gun. "Then you are him, I'm Maeve Daniels." She then threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. Oh, this is uncomfortable.

"You said Maeve Daniels?" I ask in hopes that I miss heard.

"Yes! That's right, you saved both my girls!"

"Mom?" Sarah's voice drifts up to us from down stairs.

"Yes, sweetie it's me!" She said as she quickly lets go of me and ran down to meet her daughter.

"MOM!" Sarah cried and leapt into her arms, there in which Ms. Daniels smothered her with kisses. I felt cold as if Death itself walked over my grave, as I thought back to one of Sander Cohen's instructions.

"_And once you are done with Silas and Hector, little moth, I have a special idol for you to collect. Maeve Daniels."_ I remember how he hissed her name in distaste. _"She had the NERVE!!! To upstage one of MY actors!!! In my production!!! Bring her portrait to me especially, little moth, and your path to Ryan will soon clear."_

I can't do it. I watch the two reunite, she wasn't even an insane Splicer like I expected she was. Just an actress who rubbed Cohen the wrong way. I…_vaguely_ remember wanting to see my family again when I was taken to join the Spartans. I remember more vividly Kelly crying for her father late at night after the first day. I can't kill her…

Suddenly a loud pounding came from the entrance of the casino, the three women got behind the bar and I jump down to grab and replace my helmet on my head. I then got behind a fallen table to wait or anything that would come from behind those doors.

The pounding soon stopped to be replaced by a low whirring sound and that soon passed to leave nothing but silence. "What is it?" Ms. Daniels asked me from behind the bar, weapon clenched tightly in her hand. Ready to do anything to protect the children.

"Stay down, I'll go check." I get up slowly and dashed from cover to cover until I heard the source of the racket. "I knew it…only him." Tapping starts to come from the other side of the barricade and I make a run for it. I end up making it to the bar in record time.

"What is-" I cut her off.

"DOWN!!!" **'BLAAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!!'** The room shakes a few bodies, bits of junk fly at me and the front of the casino became a ditch.

"WOW!!! DIDYOUSEETHAT!!!! ITWENTLIKETHIS!!!KABLAAAAM!!!!!!" Genie yelled.

"I told you that was too much Bittermen!!" Harvey yelled from across the room, he only got a groan in response from a Big Daddy standing beside him. "Chief, ya in here? This better be the right place or I'm going to be pis-"

"Harvey, there are children present." He looks in my direction where I am being sheltered by the bar.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Swami told Conviction, who told Tenenbaum, who told Bill, who told Victor, who told me. So how many?" I motion for them to stand and Harvey whistles. "Didn't take you long to start a family now did it." I let it go and focus on the Big Daddy behind Harvey. "Oh, don't worry about Bittermen; he's just a big cuddly teddy bear." Somehow I don't believe him but I had bigger concerns at the moment.

As they prepare to leave, I step over a burnt female corpse and a morbid thought crossed my mind. I pull Harvey off to the side and in a hushed tone, "Harvey, I need a big favor from you." He grins in a mischievous way as he listens closely.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"How cliché, there's a light at the end of the tunnel." I mutter exasperated, then again, you spend several hours going from one tunnel to the other, fight off two Big Daddies and then…those…ghost images, any one might be a tad irked. A few minutes later I come to the end and find a flooded basement with jet black water up to my knees, there was only one light source in the room, a bright lamp pointed at a plastered figure positioned in a chair staring at the wall, nothing else, just starring.

I step into the room with the flickering light and the shelf that concealed the tunnel closes behind me. I move toward the staircase that leads upstairs but stop when my foot comes in contact with something that squishes. I frown and lift my foot to look at what it was. A fish…I stepped on a dead fish, a lot of dead fish.

I'm about to put my foot back down when I hear a distinctive slosh in the water. I spin around and look in the direction of the noise. The plastered figure that was sitting in the chair is gone. Feeling apprehensive, I un-holster my pistol and make sure it's loaded.

I turn back to the stairway and nearly jump out of my armor when I see the plastered figure standing right in front of me held in a ballerina pose. I fire my pistol several times but it only serves to shock the figure into moving.

It drives a spinning kick to my helmet and I find myself knocked to the ground with a surprising force. I roll out of the way to dodge another kick and I grope in the water for my pistol before giving up. I block another blow, this time a karate chop to my neck and I try to punch the Splicer but it back-flips away.

This would be easier if the light wasn't flickering. I may have natural night vision but my eyes can't keep up with the changing light source. I get to my feet and reach for my special pistol but end up having to grab the Splicer's leg to stop a kick to my chest. I twist the limb and she puts her hands on the ground to balance her as she lifts her other foot and kicks me in the head, hard, before I can react to block it.

I hit the ground once more and roll to avoid any blows that might be coming. She twirls after me and I roll away once again and jump to my feet. I practically rip my special pistol off of my leg holster and fire three anti-personnel rounds into its chest. The sound is deafening and I begin to regret my decision of firing those particular rounds in such close quarters.

The plastered Splicer is lying dead in the water and I search for my fallen pistol after putting the other one away. "You flutter all around the Fort, taking life as you go. Your not a moth…you're an angel. I've never painted an angel before…maybe I should." Cohen cuts the transmission without waiting for a reply.

"I'd rather be a demon, considering what that whacko probably does to angels." I mutter to myself as I turn and head up the stairs. I take in the upstairs with a single glance. There was a well stocked bar with various vintages, the room was rather small with gray walls, glass ceiling, and a Splicer plastered on his back as if he were in a coffin on a stone slab near the door. Recalling my basement surprise, I walk more cautiously this time and as I round the corner, I see six other figures as plastered as the one on the alter. They all appear to be females judging by the black veils over their faces and their ballerina poses.

"Can I get some service 'hic' over here?!" Someone called outside the room, I step slowly out of the room watching the 'statues' just in case they're anything but. The door slides open and a Security Drone greets me with a delayed alarm. I smash its optical sensor with the butt end of my pistol, sending it to the ground with a loud crash. "What 'hic' was that?!" Someone stumbled out of a place called: _'EVE'S XXX APPLE_', holding a mug of alcohol in one hand and a grenade case in the other.

We make eye contact and I realize that it is Hector Rodriguez, another one of my targets. He also seemed to know where I came from. He took a swig from his mug and puts a bird mask on, then threw a smoke grenade that would have created an effective screen if not for the fact that I saw him run back into the strip club before the grenade detonated. I rush after him, I'm ten feet from the door when another grenade flies at me, and I dive into an adjacent cigar store. The grenade exploded, I sprinted out of the room and ran straight through the doors and hit the floor in time to dodge a third grenade.

The bomb destroys a couple of chairs and a table but little else. I move behind the center stage and as I do, I see Hector has taken cover behind (to no big surprise) the bar. He then lobs an incendiary bomb next to me and I just had enough time to leap over the stage and onto the bar before it exploded. I find Hector trying to grab at something he dropped, and then I see what it was and hit the deck. Half the bar goes up along with Hector's body. I walk over to him and find that he's still alive…barely. He coughs and looks at me while I'm holding a gun to his head. He motions for me to wait and I do so, it was the least I could do.

"Youuu _'cough'_ tell that old fruit we-w-ee-we'll see him soon." I don't think I'll relay that message now but…there's always later. I nod and pull the trigger and the room fell silent till it was broken by Cohen's dispassionate voice.

"He was a lout. But he was…vigorous. Get the photo before he completely dries up." I did as he asked but not before I take a Data Crystal out of Hector's pocket. Curious to what he had to say, I place it in my helmet and wait for his voice to come through.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_You know what? Art…music…poetry…it's all a 'hic' scam. Cohen's got Ryan wrapped around his, 'lil' pinky…and why? Because he tells him what he wants to hear. 'Rise, Rapture, Rise!' Nuts! That stuff was sta-'hic' stale before it came out Cohen's pen. I'm through with the whole piñata. Let's see that old fruit try an' keep me here…"_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I take out the chip and am about to leave when my vision turns gray and bright white again. I spin towards the center stage and see a woman dancing around the poll; she looks at me and smiles flirtatiously.

"_Well if it isn't the long last Andrew Ryan…Mmmm come here tiger." _She said in a throaty voice full of promise. The vision fades and I'm left more then a little disturbed.

"Hey Chief, busy?" I blink as I hear Conviction's voice come over my comm. frequency.

"Conviction?"

"Glad you remember me. I was told to tell you that everyone made it to safety and the girls say hi."

"Conviction. Has anyone who has taken Plasmids seen anything…odd?"

"You've been seeing ghosts then?"

"…Yes, something like that."

"It's a genetic sampling side-effect. I could get Dr. Harrison to explain if you'd like." My mind flashed to the odd, if not well meaning surgeon.

"No, that won't be necessary. I've got work to do."

"Don't we all. Good luck chief." Conviction cut the line. I don't have time to dwell on that short conversation because I hear a noise coming from the stage back room. I jump easily onto the circular performing area and quickly head behind the violet curtains and into a narrow hallway. My vision once again goes gray and fuzzy.

The woman from earlier is once again in front of me. _"I thought you forgot about poor Jasmine. So glad you didn't." _She then turns and walks down the next hall. I feel compelled to follow her and I give into the urge. I quickly find myself at a locked door, sobbing could be heard on the other side. _"I'm sorry…I just wanted to be with you…No! What are you doing?! What? No! No! I loved you! I…please! No NO!"_ There's sounds of a struggle behind the door and screaming before everything goes quiet and the door opens on its own.

I walk into the bedroom like area and inspect the room. A decomposing corpse is lying on the bed with several knife wounds in her chest. Aside from the dried blood the circular room is decorated in purple and gold with white oak furniture.

"Oh, see you've found 'poor' Jasmine Jolene." Swami says over my comm. channel. There's no holo-pad for him to appear on in this room.

"What happened to her?"

"Oh, nothing much. Aside from Ryan killing her in a fit of rage."

"Why didn't you say anything to Sullivan?" Epstein the Swami just bursts out laughing in that A.I sort of way.

"You might be the stoic soldier type but you've got a great sense of humor." He chuckles again. "Yeah, tell Sullivan (Ryan's best friend) about a murder when the murderer could have me decompiled in a second. Yeah, I'm gonna get right on that." His voice is dripping with sarcasm before he pauses for a moment. "You know it's kind of ironic…"

"What's ironic?"

"Ryan blamed the Rapture Ripper for the murder of Jasmine Jolene but after she was killed the murders mysteriously stopped."

"You're saying that…" My eyes drift over to Jasmine's corpse as I realize what Swami is saying. "Did Ryan know?"

He lets out another short burst of laugher. "No and that's the most hilarious thing. He killed her because she told his wife Diane that Ryan and she were having an affair. Ryan was noticeably pissed, as you can see." He calms down a bit before continuing. "He was especially pissed when Diane left him and joined the rebels. I think that was when Ryan really flipped out. The last of his family had left him. First his son dies, and then he becomes estranged from his daughter, then this."

I look around the room for anything useful then leave the tomb of one of Rapture's serial killers. I'm back in the strip club when Swami appears on a holo-pad sitting on the bar. "Sahib, I bring forth word from the Red One."

"What does the Major want now?"

"Uh, the message loosely translates to: 'Hurry up you bastard, I have no one but Cohen to talk to.' Oh that's awful."

"Tell him I'll be there as soon as I can, just one more errand to attend to." Swami nods and disappears. That is when I hear a clatter from upstairs. Gripping my holstered pistol, I exit the strip club with caution to investigate.

I follow the noises to the upper floor of the Plaza. I think back to the Audio Recording that Cobb left as I search a map of the floor I am on. The Record Store, easy enough to find. When I reach the top of the stairs and go through a set of double sliding doors, I see another figure down at the other side wearing the same birds mask as Hector and holding a box of some sort. He starts to run but I refrain from pursuing him out of caution because from what I gathered about Cobb, the slow approach was best.

I trace him along the opposite path and see him go into (where else?) the Record Store. I come around the bend and see another sample of Sander Cohen's work. The 'sculpture' was of a man plastered to a park bench with a bunny mask over his face, in a tidy suit, legs folded, and one hand in his lap the other looked as though it was wrapped around someone that wasn't there.

"How much is that doggy in the window? The one with the waggly tail?" A female singsong voice whispered from above. Without thinking I roll forward in time to avoid a vicious swipe at my head by a plastered Spider Splicer on the ceiling. I quickly regain my balance and twist around to see it crab walking toward me. I fire five shots to bring her down, which I did but I heard scrapping metal from my right. Two more Splicers twirl, spin, cavort, and frolic down the path with three other carrying pipes and wrenches.

"Oh, how I long for the old days…Grunts, Jackals, Brutes, Hunters, maybe the odd army of Flood…but this?" I stand my ground, raise my pistol and fire three shots. I killed the Splicer that was charging at me with a melee weapon. My two dancing partners, however, had no intention of having their display or lives cut short so they, in one graceful movement, flip themselves into the air, land on the ceiling, and sashay away in each other's arms as if nothing ever happened. "Well there's something you don't see everyday." I shake my head, clearing it of any distractions. I was close now and there was only one obstacle left…Cobb. I step up the pace until I'm just outside the Record Store. I don't hear anything inside but that doesn't mean anything. So I position myself on the side of the door, and then put my hand towards the sensor and as the doors open I wait for anything…but nothing happened.

"My collection is complete, and then we'll see who the real artist is down here, that old crows music cooks better then it sounds." Cobb's southern American accent called somewhere down the hallway.

I SWAT turn in and sweep the room again, nothing. Odd, I saw him go in, I'm sure as hell he didn't slip ou- The floor suddenly gave out beneath my feet and I fall to a second story of the store. I pick myself up off the ground and shake off the dust and wood beams that were atop of me. Picking up my fallen pistol, I hear a rapid ticking sound from the middle of the room. I look over and see a corpse in a high back, red, leather chair with a large bundle in his lap and I quickly duck just as he exploded.

My ears were still ringing when I dare look up again, this time I see a man with a bird mask, a (once) white shirt, colorful vest with no jacket, pinstripe pants and a grenade case under his left arm…Cobb.

"You Cohen's messenger boy?! Well that's fine! I've got something for that crow! Why don't you spend some time with my kittens' sugar?!" He then took out a grenade, tossed it into the ceiling, and then took off. When the grenade detonated a sharp piercing howling came shortly after. Three flaming Splicers came dropping out of the vents but by this time I had enough of this, so I summon my Winter Blast, aim for one and fired. They froze into place, I quickly shattered them with my fist, jump up back to the first level and run after Cobb.

To my surprise he was standing just outside the doorway in shock. "My kittens! You murdered my kittens!" He then reaches for a grenade and again, without a thought, I pull back my fist with a roar (that sounded suspiciously like the Flood) and strike him square in the chest as hard as I could. Completely shattering his ribcage and sending him thirty feet across the room, hitting a safety rail and onto the ground floor fountain.

Shocked at the sudden coup de main, I look over the side and see his body floating lazily around in the dark water below. What else can I expect in the future? Cohen interrupted my thoughts. "He was a nasty one…and my favorite. But I think I like him better this way. Take a damn photo, chop, chop." I leap down and take out the holo-still camera and took the photo.

"Good…good, now quickly back to the Atrium! The birth is near!!! And by the by that was a beautiful coup de grace, my Angel of Death." I just nod and see where Harvey and his Big Daddy came through and make my way back to Cohen, The Major, Zee'…and Ryan.

**-END OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Co-Author's Notes:

Hello Everyone,

I take full responsibility for this crappy chapter sense I wrote most of it due to the fact that KTHM was suffering from a bad case of Writer's Block. Though she did fix most of my spelling and grammar mistakes to the best of her ability.

The only parts that weren't written by me were the Swami and snake interactions, Harvey's parts, the basement fight scene and the Cobb fight scene at the very end. KTHM is to blame if they suck.

Before you send in bad reviews for this, I would like you to keep in mind that I don't normally write, I'm an idea man for god sakes! As a matter of fact, KTHM is writing this author's note for me. Sad isn't it?

Oh, and the idea of the Rapture Ripper was completely mine. Just something that just popped into my head.

-Mortified Mind

P.S. The Little Sisters say the oddest things if you really listen to them

Author's Notes:

Hello Faithful Readers,

As stated by my brother in his notes, I did very little for this chapter aside from correcting mistakes and some of the dialogue. For Mortified Mind's sake, I hope you liked it.

So, how many of you liked Epstein the Swami? My brother and I decided that we should make him an A.I in the story because we really like the Fortune Telling machine in the game. Plus, how many of you figured out where my inspiration for Genie came from? That's right, you guessed it, and most of her lines come from GIR in the TV Show _Invader's Zim _created by Jhonen Vasquez. Gypsy's inspiration kinda sorta came from Onslo from BBC's _Keeping Up Appearances_.

Here's little more background info. Chapters 16 and 17 were written long before Mortified Mind even started typing this one out.

Teaser Information: Someone close to John still lives.

Until next time,

-KTHM

Q&A_________________________________________________________________________________

Chindu Pince of Darkness-

_I have two answers for your question. _

_1. Zee' has spent a lot of time around humans and at one point got caught up in human TV shows. _

_2. The Covenant get human broadcasts. _

_Thanks for reading!_

-KTHM

Armored Soul-

…_You got it half right. Good guess though. _

_Thanks,_

-KTHM

_Thank you to everyone else!_

-KTHM


	18. Waltz of the Major

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Sixteen: Waltz of the Major 

Major Ar'Deeth, Sangheili Air Force_______________________________________________________

I bid Zee'Coal farewell and head to the door that Cohen's spotlight illuminated for me as she heads through the same tunnel the Spartan had disappeared through. Apparently, I have been charged to kill a human male by the name of Arthur Cussler, an artist.

After a short walk through a warm glass tunnel, I walk through another sliding 'glass' door and find myself in a large, richly decorated area with shops lining the three story building. It was probably once a nice place but now (like most of the city) it was destroyed and fallen into disrepair. The glass ceiling was leaking and several shops were on fire with their contents scattered across the floor. Blood painted some of the walls and a few disfigured bodies were lying on the floor.

To my left is a sign with a map of the building on it. This would have proved useful if it was not so caked with blood I can't make out a single word on it.

"Where ya heading O' Red One?" I spin around and find a construct projecting itself on a holo-pad. It resembled a man in a Fortune Teller's garb sitting cross-legged with a crystal ball on his lap. His outfit is made up of different flamboyant colors but is mostly red and purple with gold and orange thrown in. He had two wicker baskets sitting next to him with their tops on.

"Who are you?"

"I am an artificial intelligence program whose main function is to oversee the entertainment, celebrations, and other activities within Fort Frolic. Although lately, since I seem to have a lot of time on my hands, I've been finding other ways to amuse myself. I like the color red and classic 20th century music. I'm rather fond of divination and astronomy. I like riddles-"

"I asked who you are! Not a-"

"Exactly, you asked who I am. And I attempted to tell you in simple terms. Now, if you want to know my name, it's a simple thing to ask."

"Fine. What are you called, construct?"

"Normally, I am addressed as Epstein the Swami, the Wise Mystic. However you can call me whatever you wish." Suddenly the top of one of the baskets came flying off and a serpent creature came out energetically.

"WHO'STALKING!!!!" It yelled as it caught sight of me. "WHAT'SYOURNAME?! DOYOUWANT TOBEMYFRIEND?! IWANTTOBEYOURFRIENDDOYOULIKEPOKER-" The energetic serpent was cut off when Swami grabbed the basket's top and slammed it back down, effectively shutting the creature up and trapping it. Unfortunately the top of the other basket's lid slides off as a much more lethargic twin of the other one appeared and looks around disinterestedly.

"Dude, what was all that noise. I'm, like, trying to sleep." The top of the first basket flies off again and the energetic one looks at its twin.

"WEGOTANEWFRIEND! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK! WE'REGOINGTOEATCHOCOLATEANDCHEESE! WE'REGONNABEBESTFRIENDS!!!!" The other creature blinks slowly at its twin and Swami tries to put the twitchy one back in its basket.

"Dude, you gotta, like, chill. Ya know, slow down."

"Genie, Gypsy, for the last time! Stay in your baskets when we have company. You scare people away like lions chasing antelope." The entire time all I could do was stare at the constructs in complete disbelief. They're even crazier then the fowl.

"So, were you heading somewhere?" The main construct asks as it wipes imaginary sweat from its holographic brow.

"I need to get to the café. Where is it?"

"I am neither up nor down, neither empty nor full. I am halfway from anywhere but nowhere from beginning or end. I am average to the finish but unique in my position. Who am I?" It cocks its head to the side and gives me a penetrating stare. I know this is the best I am going to get from this construct so I put my mind to solving the riddle. Luckily for me it wasn't exactly a difficult riddle and must have been made up on the spot.

"You are the middle, a center point." It smiles widely and nods. My eyes look to the floor above my currant position. "The café is in the middle of the second floor."

"Very good, your smarter then you look." He flicks his wrist and a 'ding' sounds from my right. I look in the direction of the noise and find an elevator waiting for me. I nod at the construct and step into the single elevator.

Soon enough a 'ding' sounds once again and I step onto the second floor. I see Epstein the Swami playing a flute like instrument and his two serpents dancing to the melody. The construct didn't seem to notice me as I walked passed because his eyes were closed but I knew better. In their territories constructs can be near omniscient. This is probably why it chose the form that it did.

I find the café easily enough thanks to the construct's hint and am soon winding my way through tables (some standing, some not). I look around for my foe but I see no trace of him. Perhaps Cohen was wrong about the location.

I push open the door to the kitchen and find myself in a forest of beehives. I freeze and stare, remembering what Zee' had told me about her experience with getting the bee saliva in Arcadia. According to her, bees didn't look like much but a lot of them could hurt. I also recall that smoke calms the insects down.

I carefully step around the beehives and try and stay away from them. Luckily they don't seem to care as long as I don't touch their hives. Pushing open the door to a large storeroom, I am more then happy to see it is bee free.

I look around the shelves to see if there is anything worth eating or taking. That's when I hear something fall to the ground and footsteps running. I yank my Energy Sword off of my arm holster and activate it before running after the sounds.

I come to a stop at a dead end and I have to resist scratching my head as I look around. I know he's here. I end up spinning around and looking at the door of the storeroom as it bangs open. I catch a sight of a man running into the kitchen. Right back into the bees.

I take off after him but slow down when I am among the hives once more. I see a human male at the other end of the room and I have to say it is on my top ten most disgusting things I have ever seen.

Arthur Cussler looked normal enough for a human his age. Salt and pepper hair, blue-green eyes, average stature for a male of his species. Unfortunately his appearance is ruined by his ripped and bloodied clothes mixed with honey and the fact that live bees are crawling on almost every inch of his body.

I see the man smile under the bees and fling his hands out. As if he told them to attack, a swarm of honey bees rears up and flies at me with speed. I end up having to duck, and twirl, and spin as the bees attack me. In frustration, I deactivate my Energy Sword (it's useless again such small opponents) and un-holster my Plasma Rifles.

I shoot at the swarm and quite a few bees drop dead, littering the ground in nothing but ashes. Cussler seems to have lost his cockiness and moves to tackle me. The 'man' moves so fast that it seems impossible; he's obviously had help from a Tonic.

We tumble to the ground and I feel the bees on both Cussler and the swarm that had attacked me earlier try to sting me. I grunt in pain and discomfort as I try to fight the insane person off of me. My Plasma Rifles had been knocked away from me in the tumble.

He punches me in the side of my face and I counter with breaking his nose. Cussler screams and wraps his hands around my neck and tries to choke me. I throw another punch at him but he ignores it as my fist connects with his jaw.

In my air deprived state, I almost forgot I had a weapon on me. Moving so that he doesn't notice, I un-holster my Energy Sword once more and in the same motion, activate it and swing the device. He is easily decapitated.

I push the corpse off of me and rub my aching neck as I take in gulps of air. "Take a picture and make sure you get his head in it!" I shake my head and do as I am told. Crazy Flood bait bastard.

I make my way out of the room and back to the elevator. As soon as I am at the bottom floor again, I head back to the tunnel that will take me to the Atrium. Cohen had insisted the Spartan kill three, Zee' kill two, and I one. I'm not sure whether I should be relieved or insulted.

I'm halfway to the tunnel when the lights flicker and go out. "Aw, hell. A couple of Splicers have hacked the lights while I was busy with defending the walls." Swami's voice says through the blackness. The entire building is pitch black and I hear footsteps around me. "This is how Specter Splicers operate. They are naturally invisible but it's harder to see them in the dark. They use Electro Bolts, Telekinesis, and Teleportation." I would have commented on this new bit of information but I was forced to dodge a stream of electricity that was shot my way. Naturally that made it a bit difficult for pleasantries.

"Listen, just close your eyes and hope it's over quickly." The construct advises, I choose to ignore this completely.

I fire my Plasma Rifle to illuminate the place briefly. I catch an ephemeral distortion in the air a meter where I shot. I try firing again but the Splicer has moved. "I hate to use these…" I mutter as I get low and dig in my bag for the three pieces of equipment I need. The main item behind my plan is normally more of a nuisance then a help but under these circumstances it might just save my life. Just as I find the items, I am hit in the back by an electrified barrel which rolled a few feet from me and exploded shortly after.

"A great error on your part, you cowards." True, the explosion did hinder my progress but it gave me enough light to see by. I hear laughing coming from everywhere, then nothing. I ready my Plasma Rifle when I hear a whooshing to my right and I fire blindly. A screech follows my last burst then a red cloud materializes next to me. "You will pay for that!" It screeched, and then lashed out with an electrified fist. I side step the blow and reach for my Energy Sword. I try to decapitate my attacker but it soon vanished.

"Come out and fight me cowards!" Laughter echoed through out the area. I once again search for the necessary equipment in my bag to end this façade. I find one; I then activate my energy sword and wait for the right moment. I see some movement from above and blue energy soon flowed through the Splicer. I throw the Grav Lift out, then I toss the Flare as far up as I could, illuminating a good portion of the room and the Splicers.

I see a shimmer on the second floor near the railing and I shoot it quickly, making the Splicer visible as it died and fell to my level. I spin quickly and shoot the next disturbance I see.

The Flare explodes and I promptly send another one up. The light makes it easier to see the monstrosities. I see another shimmer and I am about to fire when a lumbering vibration and a mournful groan fills my ears and that followed by a familiar voice. "Come on Bittermen, we can't keep the Chief and the little ladies waiting." A groan in response. "Not with that attitude Bittermen…Oh, hi Red, what are you doing here." Harvey was still in his usual attire with the notable exception of a pair of interesting goggles giving him the appearance of having bee eyes.

"One might ask you the same." I counter as I examine the Big Daddy with shrewd observation.

"Oh, don't worry about Bittermen, he's as gentle as…actually he's as gentle as a Pelican being dropped on you and as subtle as a ragin' rhino… but that's not the point. What are you here for? Only people with a death wish or Specter Splicers come here."

"Or you." I point out.

"Yes. Me, Bittermen, and Calliope." He affirms, patting his Sniper Rifle.

"Calliope?" I ask in confusion.

He grins but it looks more like a grimace, "Third wife." He answers. I just nod not understanding what a 'wife' was, where is Zee' when I need her?

"What are those?" I ask pointing to the goggles.

"Echo Glasses, they help see the Specters." I realized it must be true because the whole time we talked neither of us was attacked. "Bittermen can see them too, which is why they're a little…hesitant." Suddenly a beeping sound comes from a device on his tool belt and he takes a data pad out of a pouch. He examines it for a moment before cursing and replacing it. "Okay we can escort you to wherever you need to go but we really need to get a move on."

"You want me to abandon this battle?" I demanded, I ignore the fact that I haven't exactly been in a battle for the entire time the dark haired human had been standing in front of me.

He shrugs, "Suit yourself, I'm easy. But if you think you can take on twenty Specter Splicers by yourself without even seeing them…or do you plan to keep shooting those firecrackers up in the air till you get them all?" Damn insufferable human. But he did have a point, so I retrieve the Gravity Pad and begrudgingly accept his offer to escort me back to the Atrium.

"Zee' will never let this go as long as I live." The Splicers started to get a little bolder and started to throw Electro Bolts in our general direction but not so close as to upset the Big Daddy.

"Geronimo!" Harvey yelled as we ran for the tunnel. I was surprised that the Splicers did not follow us but was silently grateful for the reprieve. After a brisk walk we came to the 'glass' door that led back to Cohen's Atrium. We casually walk through and see that the place is empty.

"Box office must have really gone to hell." Harvey mutters. "But this is where we part ways, see you next time Red! Come on Bittermen we got three ladies to escort out of here." And with that last farewell the two creatures walk over to a door I had previously not noticed, marked: 'STAFF ENTRANCE'. I'm alone again but not for long.

"Yes! Now put his picture on the holo-pad. Let's see what we got here!" Cohen exclaims over the speaker system. I did as he 'recommended', walking up to the pedestal near the holo-pads and place the camera on it to transfer the image. Soon one of the pads flicker on and a 3-D image of Cussler's corpse appears.

"That's two of seven…what's that look? You don't like it, do you? I don't need to be judged by you…by anyone…screw you!! Screw all you fucking DOUBTERS!!!! Here's what I say to you!!!!!!"

"But I did not say-" The lights dim then turn a deep red and music softly drifts through the speakers. "Fly away, my little dragon! Fly!!!" I became slowly aware that there were suddenly more figures in the Atrium then I thought. The Splicers came crawling out of holes and doorways and other unseen places. And much to my disbelief they did not charge at me but rather…danced.

"This is madness." I grab my Energy Sword and cut down the first one that came close to touching the platform I was on. Two more came at me and met the same fate. "Hmm, this is easier then I thought it was going to be." But then they came in a greater frequency and they became faster as well, evading my blade with more ease.

"Smile!!! Little dragon flower! Smile!!!!" A Splicer spun towards me with two circular disk like weapons in her plastered hands. I managed to deflect most of the blows but it also gave me four quick slashes to my exposed stomach. The wounds were not deadly but it did make it hard to concentrate. I swing my blade at her but she nimbly sways to the side…and right into my Plasma Rifle. I fire a burst and it went twirling in the air and then fell dead. It went on and on like this forever. Music playing, blood flowing, Splicers dying.

Then…nothing. The last of Sander Cohen's Splicers stopped coming at me but I stood ready. There was still nothing so I did a quick inventory. One Plasma Rifle drained; Energy Sword has a fifty-two percent charge. All things considered…not bad, not good either. Then Cohen's accursed voice drifted out of the speakers.

"My brave little dragon cannot be slain by my gallant knights…perhaps another dragon will do." Before I could reflect upon his words a soft thrumming sound came from above me. Then I saw it in far more detail and wished the Spartan and Zee' were here at the moment.

"The Hydra Sentinel! Isn't it beautiful?!" It did indeed have an odd sinister allure to it. The machine was vaguely Sentinel in appearance. The body was sleek, large; the main casing was onyx black and had deep blue veins running through it. As it descended, nine long tentacles protruded from its body. On the ends of each whip was an object that was most definitely a laser weapon.

"Now I will leave you two to get acquainted, have fun!" I slowly back away from the Hydra and look for the best set of cover. There! Behind the stairs, now if only I could get to it.

I start to run but the Hydra tensed its tentacles and nine bright blue beams struck the ground, walls, and the statues beside me. "How could they miss? Unless…toying with me are you? Well I might have a surprise for you as well, my friend." I roll to the side, evading another aerial attack, I then spring forth with my sword and cut three of the beam weapons as I go.

Then a strange dull orange sphere of light came from it and I was thrown back to the quadtych. "A Gravity Emitter…fantastic!" I spit out along with some blood. I then see the three damaged whips retract into its body after the Emitter stopped. I didn't get to ponder about it long for the remaining six fired at me with more accuracy then before. It seems I have struck a nerve.

The beams blast was short and controlled; I couldn't help but wonder why though. Then it came to me, like a light being turned on. I was on the platform of Cohen's sick masterpiece, it must be programmed to spare damage upon it, at least that's one advantage. It seems less of one when I see the three destroyed tentacles come out of the Hydra's body practically new.

"Damn you Cohen." I mutter as I crept closer to the masterpiece in hopes it will discourage more bold attacks. I reach into my pack and throw the first grenade I find at it. The Frag Grenade was halfway to its target when two sentinel beams aim and shoot it, sending the fragment everywhere. They bounce harmlessly off of the Hydra. I am less fortunate for a few fragments hit the side of my face. I feel blood stream down my left mandible and I can't see out of my left eye.

"Now, that is going to cost you." As it appeared to be recharging, I take another grenade out and place it on the masterpiece. It stopped cold and I grinned fiendishly to myself. "Now we play my game." I take my last holo-drone, activate it as fast as I could and the second my double appeared, I dashed off the platform with the grenade and activate my cloaking device. All in the same motion. The Hydra took a chance and fired a short stream of five beams at the hologram and it soon destabilized.

Confused by this, the Hydra moved closer in order to investigate. When the time was right, I threw the Gravity Pad out and jumped as high as I could and controlled my descent so I landed perfectly on top of it. I activate the Energy Sword and ram it hard into the thing's body. This only caused it to bring to bring seven of its arms up to where I was. They did not fire however but wrapped around me and flung me from one end of the Atrium to the other.

The second I could stand I brought my Battle Rifle out and readied myself. The Hydra closed in for the kill but stopped short when I raised my left hand holding the remote detonator.

"Forget my gift already? I'm hurt…but not as much as you soon will be." I callously declare. The Hydra's nine arms go into a frenzy, a few try and shoot me, which I dispatch with the Battle Rifle but most tried to find the explosive with feverish and pointless effort. I thumb the trigger and watch the Hydra go up in a thousand pieces. But to be sure, I rush up and fire a few bursts into the remains. I wait a few moments and when I'm satisfied it was no more, I pick up my fallen sword and treat my wounds.

I discover I can still see out of my left eye but mostly blurred shapes. I'll need Zee' expertise to do anything more. I place the last bits of my armor back on when Sander Cohen's depraved apologetic voice fills the Atrium again. "I'm sorry for that outburst. You'll have to forgive an old fool and his artistic temperament. The birth is so close now…the labor pains can blur the judgment, and drive the passions of even the finest spirits…"

"But of course…I would have done the same." You twisted madman. I, of course, keep that last part to myself.

"I'm glad you understand. Well your friends should be along shortly. And for that wonderfully impressive display, I invite you to see my more…private works. But not the BOX!!! I forbid you from looking at it!! That is only for my true disciples!!" He warned

"I wouldn't dream of it." I replied humbly but inwardly I only wanted to leave this horrid place. So I went to the stairs and sat on a step and waited for my comrades to return…waited…and waited…and waited.

**-END OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN-**

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Author's Notes:

Hello,

Well, I wrote most of this chapter and I have to say I'm not happy with it. Especially the parts I wrote. Oh well, this was the best I could come up with.

I also want to mention that I made up the Bee Splicer and the Specter Splicers in this part. However Mortified Mind came up with the super cool Hydra Sentinel.

Next is the telling of Zee's adventure through Fort Frolic.

This leads me to the Teaser: Cute furry animals are soon to come!

That's all for now,

-KTHM


	19. Zee's Dance With the Devil

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Seventeen: Zee's Dance With the Devil

Zee'Coal, Field Analyst__________________________________________________________________

This damn accursed frozen tunnel will be the end of me if I do not leave soon. Sangheili were warm blooded, though we do have an adaptable blood type. Comfortable in either environment but since my home planet had two suns we prefer warmer climates.

I'm cold, deathly cold but I keep telling myself not to complain. I agreed to take this route, Ar'Deeth hates the cold, not that I could blame him. Being struck with a painful disease as a child and being told it would last for most if not all of his life. His only company being his living parents, his Uncle, and myself. I would come by every day and bring sub-tropical plants to him from my mother's personal garden and lighten that cold gloomy room he was confined in.

His disease was a horrible affliction which can only be medicated in a cold environment. Ar'Deeth's parents were told that he could not have a normal life because of his 'Condition' and should be put to death rather than treat him. His family, of course, refused and chose to push their son to his limits. I remember the first day I met him.

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_I was trying to fix a hover disk I received from my parents for passing the 'Prophet's Test of Obedience' not that it was hard, you just nod your head a lot and answer yes or no questions. _

_But there I was in the middle of a park trying to get the infernal thing to move when a voice called from the distance. "Reset the nav-computer to accept manual control and then you need to adjust the anti-gravity pack to compensate for wind resistance." Surprised, I look up to see a rather pale male about my age from a high window of one of the more prominent houses. I looked at him and back to the disk and back to him, he looked like he could use some company. _

"_I'm afraid I have never been proficient at this sort of thing, would you mind?" I ask politely, knowing is family status was more than my own and it would be unwise to upset him. He seemed to think about it for moment and then nodded his head slightly before he motions for the door of his home. It was far more opulent and ostentatious then I thought it would be. Old, famous art everywhere, the finest linen, and the view! But no time for that now, I made my way up to the mysterious child's room. _

_I find it easily enough, it was the coldest in the whole house. The door was open and I walk in unsure but unafraid. "Hello." I call out. _

"_Greeting." Came a somewhat curt reply. I turn to see the child with pale gray skin and about my height which was strange for most Sangheili males. _

"_Can you fix this?" I asked sweetly. He gave me an odd look but took the disk from me and went to a work table worthy of a forge master. Whilst he worked I looked around his room and decided it needed some plants but other then that…_

_There was an array of aviation and engineering schematics and documents on the walls and tables. Yet, I still remember wondering what he wanted to be when he grew up. Ah, youth. "There, all done." He said from behind me. _

"_You know what this room needs? A plant…or seven." For the first time he smiled at me. _

"_And just where would I put them so they would not get frost bite…?" He paused for my name which I forgot to tell him, which was incredibly rude. _

"_Oh, I'm terribly sorry, my name is Zee'Coal." He gave a short bow and introduced himself. _

"_And I am Ar'Deeth, welcome to my most humble tomb." We share a short laugh and I take the disk back. _

"_Well, thank you Ardy." And from that day on we were nigh inseparable. _

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"I can seeee yourrr breeeaaath." An icy, slow voice called from somewhere and it ironically sent chills down my flesh. I unclasp my Spiker from my hip and look around. Apparently I had walked farther then I thought. I stepped into an antechamber and walk slowly inside. There's no one around.

I keep going until a cold drip hit my neck. I look up and see a body splayed on the ceiling, frozen. It appeared to have something stuck to it, I reach into my pack and find one of he Brute Fire Bombs I salvaged from the Phantom wreck.

Pushing the activator, I lightly lobbed it at the frozen corpse. The chemical solution quickly burned away the ice and the body fell to the ground. I walk up to the, unfortunately, now burned figure and see that it was one of the human's data-crystal chips. I take the chip and reached once more into my pack and retrieve a portable audio device I kept to interpret scavenged information from human ship logs…the ones that survived purging that is.

Placing the chip in, I wait for a moment, there was some static and then a cold drawn-out voice came out acidly.

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"_You think you're gonna finish me in here, you old fruit? The other saps you tossed in this meat locker all panicked like rabbits. I just watched and waited. And when they started to kick, I started to scavenge. Made myself a little Splicer cocktail I did. If you can't come in from the cold, then you got to grow ice over your heart. And the Iceman cometh, Sander baby. The Iceman fucking cometh."_

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I jump as a door to my far right slides open, I brought the Spiker to the ready and waited. One minute ticked by…then two…then three. "Fortune favors the bold." A human lieutenant said to me during the assault on the Ark but Ardy says, "First way to avoid a trap is knowing when one exists.' Wise advice indeed. That's why I take out another fire bomb when I go through the doorway.

The room was large and lined with frozen bodies in various positions but mostly empty. I see movement at the far end of the room and I catch sight of a single human, perhaps male but at a distance I can't tell much else, so I move closer. And as I do, he turned around, ran, then vanished into mist right in front of me.

"Oh…okay…that was…interesting. To think that's only the second time someone's went to pieces on me." I say to myself dumbly, thankful no one else was around to hear my idiotic comment. Almost against my will I venture further in and I feel eyes moving over to, to say the least it was less then comforting. One of the 'statues' moved and I swung my Spiker at it and it shattered instantly.

"Great now I'm seeing things." I chuckle to myself. "Maybe the Spartan and I could go to the asylum together. He'd be stoic company but better then nothing." I decide to move on but I find after a few moments it gets harder to move and I feel colder then before. I then start to shake violently and despite myself a shiver of terror went through me. I look at my hands to see they have become frozen over and that was when I stopped moving all together and blackout.

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I came too a long while later, how long has passed, I can't say for sure. But that's the least of my problems as I realize that I'm frozen like the other statues in the room. Terror and fear takes hold of me and I try to move but to no avail. That's when I become aware of another presence. I realize it is the man from earlier as he comes to stand in front of me. He was dressed in a colorful vest with strange patterns, white cloth and a strange mask of an avian creature I am not familiar with. He then spoke in the same acidly cold, broken tone as on the data crystal.

"Guess the old fruit finally sent someone!…son of a bitch left me freeze…oooohhhh, I got a pose all picked out for you." He then pats me on the head once more, leaving me alone again before I pass out from the cold a second time.

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I'm suddenly gasping for air as the ice melts around me, almost causing me to drown in the water. I drop to the ground hard and I try to control my violent shivers. What had happened? I blink and look around to see the pieces of the Fire Bomb I had been holding.

I smile at my good fortune. When the temperature drops to a certain degree the casing around the Bomb fails and the solution ignites. But enough of that for now. I pull out my Spiker and search the room. I find that the madman had rearranged the figures while I had been asleep. "Damn sociopath has no regard for form or order."

Just then all the lighting turned a strange shade of red and music started playing over the speakers and I find that I like it. "Sander always preferred death by music." His cold voice informed me from somewhere ahead of me. I tensed for a moment and scanned the area. I find him just as frozen as I was moments ago with his arms open as if trying to catch something.

I shoot Spikes at him but he vanishes before they can make contact. "I'm really getting sick of that." I groan out when I hear something behind me, I spin and fired and only got the sound of metal digging into ice in response. Damn.

I cautiously look around as I head for some sort of cover. Which just happened to be a large pile of snow. I ducked behind it and checked the ammo in my Spiker. I look around frantically and tried to locate the demented snowman.

There's only statues in the room. The statues! I look closely at each one to try and determine which one he was playing possum in. They all almost look the same. My eyes are on their second sweep through the iced statues when I see one held in a ballerina pose, a bird's mask covering his distorted features.

With a wicked smile I take aim and shoot Finnegan. The ice around the man shatters and the Splicer quickly leaps into action by shooting jets of frost at me. I quickly duck behind my makeshift cover. I know that if the frost had hit me it would mean immediate frost bite. I really don't need to lose a limb.

I peek out from behind the snow mound when a hear 'whoosh' sound, only to find him gone. I duck down again and look around at my immediate surroundings. There's the other statues, some random objects scattered around, and a pipe that runs over my head and disappears down the hall. A closer inspection of the pipe makes me realize that it's a Plasma Main.

I blink I didn't think humans used plasma power sources. It takes me a second to actually put together that I might have chosen a very bad piece of cover. My eyes search frantically for any sign of the Ice Man as I try to come up with a plan. After all the crazed Splicer might not realize that the exploding Plasma might kill him as well.

My frantic and disheveled mind only comes up with one plan and it's absolutely stupid, not to mention crazy. I pull out an Incinerate grenade and stick it far into the frozen mound in front of me before igniting it. I yank my hand away quickly but my finger tips end up getting charred.

To my surprise, the ice is so thick that only a small part of it get melted leaving a tiny burrow in the ice. I dive in just as I hear Finnegan's laughter seemingly coming from every corner of the Frozen Tunnel. My hand move frantically to make the hole deeper and a little bigger toward the end. I hear another 'whoosh' sound and I yank out my Spiker in time to shoot his assembling form. Another 'whoosh' and he's gone in a puff of blue mist.

I quickly go back to work but end up having to shoot the tough ice with my Spiker just to break it. "What are you doing? Looking for oil?" His cold voice echoes around the room. I ignore him in favor of rigging another Napalm Grenade.

I rip up a couple of bandages from my first aid kit and tie it around the triggering mechanism of the grenade before placing it between the wall and the pipe. I shoot a couple of blind Spikes around the room for good measure before diving back into my tunnel.

My hands shake as I fiddle with a couple of wires on my armor. I wish Ardy was here, he was much better at this sort of thing. I manage to splice together two wires and my shield flares to life. I quickly collapse the tunnel around me and yank on the bandages I had trailed from the grenade in a crude way of detonating it.

The fire is enough to break the already sensitive and frost damaged pipes and the plasma ignites nicely enough to fry anything unprotected to the purple and blue flames that roared down the tunnel.

As Finnegan and anything else in the once Frozen Hallway got cooked I laid curled in the fetal position under several layers of melting ice as my shield tried to compensate and stay alive, even rerouting power from other systems.

Unfortunately that also meant that my helmets venting and air-cleansing systems failed and I inhaled plenty of smoke. Naturally I passed out but not before a groaning and grating sound reached my ears over the roaring fire.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

My eyes flicker open to stare at an artificial sun in a mock forest much like Arcadia. I CAN'T BREATHE! I quickly flip over onto my stomach and cough up anything and everything in my lungs. I watch as ashy water splashes onto the emerald green grass below me.

My body shakes and I collapse back onto the soft grass and allow my heavy eyes to fall shut as I gasp for air. For a few moments I just lay and listen to the sounds of unseen animals…That was until a voice interrupted my peace.

"_That_ was a crazy stunt you pulled darlin'. What the hell were you thinking?!" I open my sleepy eyes to gaze at a damaged holo-pad beside a dirt walkway. The image on it distorted and flickering.

"Huh?" What is it…oh, the tunnel collapse. "I didn't have a lot of options."

"…You could have just shot Finnegan but I suppose that isn't as cool as collapsing a tunnel right?" There was a pause before he continued, "Your just lucky you floated here rather then out to the ocean. I'd imagine Sahib and the Red One would be rather upset to lose you." The holo-pad flickered off and I was left alone in the forest once again…

"Well, are you going to take a photo of him?" Ugh, Cohen. I push myself up and look around. "Or are you just going to lounge around all day?" I ignore his comment in favor of taking out the imaging device from one of my armor's compartments. I'm pleased to note that it's perfectly alright thanks to the shield generator, though my armor is a little tarnished from the flames.

I then take my time to notice the rest of my surroundings. The area just in front of me looks just like a nature park should. Behind me however was a mess of jetsam from the Frozen Tunnel. I begin the long and hazardous process (I cut my arm!) of digging through the rubble.

When I finally find Finnegan I nearly vomit. His body was in fact charred like I thought but it was also bloated from the water and the odor insured that I'd be smelling it for weeks. I quickly snap a photo and get away from the corpse.

"It's coming together…Yes…But there will always be doubters. You don't doubt me, do you? I could never stomach doubters." Cohen's sick voice became a growl towards the end of his sentence. Warning bell's sounded in my head.

"I could never doubt a…genius…such as yourself. I'm but a shadowy reflection that can only stand in your blinding inspirational light." It's like talking to the Prophets again.

"Mmmm, I think you're my favorite, my Little Dragon, but now further into Artemis's Menagerie. Onward to Dylan Jacobi, he was an unimpressive musician but he did have other…talents worthy of my attention."

"With pleasure." I say aloud but add privately to myself, "you demented lunatic." The line is cut and I take one last look around before heading deeper into the mock forest.

Once in the forest the trees are so tall they practically block out the artificial sun and the grass is large and wild around the thick tree roots and covering up the path I am on. I imagine that at one point the forest wasn't so overgrown but since the city fell it's been let off it's leash. So to speak.

I'm so amazed by my surroundings that I don't notice when my foot gets caught in a root. I hit the ground with an undignified squeak that makes me glad that Ardy wasn't here. I groan as I rub my head. Me and my attention span.

That's when I notice a strange animal watching me from it's perch on a large tree root. It was no higher then my ankle with fluffy pink fur and it's legs were conjoined at the knees. The creature had a longish neck and a round head with three little cerise eyes. IT'S SO ADORABLE! I get up and walk over to the unmoving creature and pick it up. "Awwww, and just what are you then?" I ask as I pet it's soft, fluffy head and rub it's belly. My attentions cause it to purr like a kitten.

"It's a Voracious Fuchsia Raptor. Though it's not a bird and I can't tell you more then that because no one knows what the hell it is." It's that construct's voice again but I can't tell where it's coming from. It's disembodied voice is enough to startle the pink fluff ball as it darts from my arms and down the path.

"Wait!" I run after the creature and burst through a pair of bushes and into a clearing. The clearing actually resembled a human zoo with four large cages adorning the area with a broken holo-pad in the middle of the circle.

Losing focus once again, I wander over to a cage and notice a damaged machine that was supposed to give off a shield over the bars. I shift my attention from the machine to the actual cage and notice that the inside is more like a bog pit with thick mist clinging to the floor. "What creature could have lived in here?" I look around for some sort information pad, all zoos have info pads.

Locating it fairly quickly, I discover that the animal was called a, 'Quetzalcoatl Anaconda: Skippy.' I didn't really get to ponder it because a strange music floated across the Menagerie. I turn to follow the music and come face to face with the pink ball of fluff once again. "Well hello there, where'd you run off too?'

I scoop the creature up once more and begin petting he adorable creature. "Hey lady, you might want to pull your hand away before it thinks you're an appetizer." I glance at the broken holo-pad to see that it had come to life with a distorted image on it.

"How could you say that about such a cute little thing?" I counter whilst cuddling the Fuchsia.

"Honey, look. That walking piece of cotton candy is not all rainbows and sunshi-" The construct was cut off when the Fuchsia spotted and hissed at a rather large gray and green bovine like creature that came round he corner and started to graze on the grass near the furthers cage.

"Oh boy. This isn't gonna be pretty, I'd take a ste-" The Fuchsia suddenly flew from Zee's arms and struck the bovine with such swift speed that if not for the pink cloud of fur tracing it's path she would have thought it had not left her arm at all. The Raptor began a unbelievably savage attack on the poor thing. From it's mouth came five rows of two inch long teeth which it then sunk into the neck of the bovine and it went limp a moment after that.

What the? "It's the main predator, other then the 'Altair Vipers' on the main land island south from here. It killed the first person it met in five seconds flat, then ate him in eighteen seconds." A death gurgle came from the bovine and an elated snarling came from the fuzz ball of death.

"Charming isn't it? It injects a strong neurotoxin into the blood stream turning it's pray, primarily the 'Giant Faun Moose', you see there into a placid lamb while its consumed." The construct sighs and continues, "And to think Hecate over there was the star attraction when Skippy broke loose. Wild ain't it?" I nod, resisting the urge to regurgitate what's left in my stomach.

I turn away from the awful sight and follow the path once more. I decide to introduce myself to the construct. I'll take all the allies I can. "I'm Zee'C-" He cuts me off.

"Yeah, I know. The Jolly Green Giant told me."

For cutting me off I think I'll give him the patented Zee' prattle. "What's your name? Are you in contact with my comrades? Why are you broken? And what is this strange music? Is there a place to get some food and water? Why are all the animals free? How's Ardy? How's the Spartan? Do you have a pet too?" I don't think I surprised him at all.

"To answer you third question first, SHUT UP! To answer your first, Epstein the Swami the Wise Mystic. That noise you hear is a violin playing: '_The Devil's Trill_'…off key, I might add. I'm not even going to bother with the rest of that."

"What about my friends?"

"The Green One has eyes but does not see and the Red One does without doing."

"Oh…alright…but are they well?"

"One who knows does not speak..."

"You're not making any sense!"

"My words are easy to understand…" And with those cryptic remarks he shuts down communication and leaves me with more questions.

I resume down the path guided by the '_Devil's Trill'_, as the construct called it. I encounter many strange animals and plants on the way. The most fascinating was a hybrid plant/animal called a 'Medusa Marauder' a scavenger by nature, according to the information pad. It also said that it has yet to be fully studied but apparently it excretes some kind of pheromone that this Ryan harvested to control the Splicers.

The Medusa Marauder looked vaguely like a jelly fish and a weeping willow had a bastard child from what I studied of various earth species. It glowed and pulsated many colors and took air in great heaving breaths. Apparently is also has some sort of defense system but the data pad didn't elaborate.

Other then that the plant looked rather calm…That calm was broken by a low buzzing sound. "I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul because I think I'm better then you." A quiet, cultured voice floats down to me. Dylan Jacobi was standing on a wide branch high up on a VERY tall tree. I can't even begin to imagine how he got up there.

From what I could tell, Jacobi was rather short for a human male with brown hair and matching eyes. The man was wearing a blood red coat, tie, and pants with a black dress shirt underneath it accompanied by black dress shoes and gloves. His clothes were surprisingly well groomed and clean. Not a tear or spot of dirt in sight.

Jacobi was holding a violin (or did he call it a fiddle?) that seemed to be painted gold. He held the instrument poised in a ready position and holding the bow in preparation to play. His smile would have been rather charming if not for the demented and sadistic look in his eyes.

"Come down so I can kill you, I REALLY don't want to come up there after you." His smile only widened and the look in his eyes became more intense.

"If you care to take a dare." He stated in a pleasant voice as he drew the bow against the strings of the violin (fiddle?) which made an evil hiss that seemed to echo throughout the Menagerie. The Medusa Marauder's buzzing became louder and it's scent changed. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? The man never lost his smile or took his eyes off of me even when blood curdling shrieks answered his violin (I'm sticking with violin) and the plant's buzzing.

Groups of Splicers suddenly came barreling out of the foliage. Jacobi began to play a song I didn't recognize and it was almost as if the Splicers were puppets on strings. They began to attack me as the buzzing from the Medusa Marauder began to match the tune the Musician was playing.

I quickly un-holster my Assault Rifle and begin to fire at the oncoming Splicers but it seemed hopeless to try and suppress them. When one fell there was always three more to take it's place. The Splicer's quickly began to surround me.

My mind begins to work in overtime to try and come up with a plan. It's obvious Dylan Jacobi is controlling the Splicers but how? Frowning, I hear the buzzing begin to get louder then the violin and Jacobi quickly compensates.

No! The plant is controlling the Splicers with it's pheromones and the noise. The buzzing must be acting like a subliminal message to the insane inhabitants of the Zoo. The violin must be controlling the plant. Something in the sound, the notes. Something…

There I go again. For now it doesn't matter I just have to get Jacobi to stop playing. I hit a Splicer with the butt of the Assault Rifle which provides me with an opportunity to spin on my heel and fire at Jacobi. Unfortunately this also provides and opportunity for a few Splicers to jump on my back and make me fall to the ground. I end up dropping my weapon in the chaos.

Because of the Splicers my shots at Jacobi went wide. Right. New plan…and nothing comes to mind.

I struggle and kick and try to get free of the deranged lunatics. Luckily none of them have weapons or they might have killed me already. One of them kicks me in the ribs and I groan in pain.

That's when a growl came from the tree line of the clearing. As one we all turn to look but see nothing in the darkness that the trees provide. Jacobi quickly begins to play again so he doesn't lose his minions and I resume struggling.

The growl sounds again but it's moved a little bit. I think I recognize the growl…No! It can't be. That's when a blur of pink fur shoots out of the trees and scales the tree quickly. Before Jacobi could react, Hecate bit his hand and the Musician dropped the violin in his pain and surprise. The instrument dropped to the ground and broke in half. The plant stops buzzing…

And all hell breaks loose as the Splicers turn on one another and completely forget me. Jacobi roared loudly in rage and kicks Hecate as hard as he could. The poor thing hit's a tree and falls to the ground in a heap. I just can't believed the little fur ball helped me. I take my eyes off her crumpled form with a growl and grab my Assault Rifle. Flood bait bastard is going to pay!

I shoot a round at Jacobi but he dodges by actually gliding to another tree branch. This time one a little lower to the ground. Taking advantage of my surprise he throws a fireball at me. My eyes widen almost comically and I duck behind a tree for cover. "Oh, great. Kindling. Good one Zee'" I mutter to myself as I search for better cover.

I cautiously peak from behind the large tree to see Jacobi glaring at a group of Splicers that had been watching the fight. "You best be turning back if you want this girl to win because practice is the only cure for the predicament that she's in." This time it is I that takes advantage of his distraction and fire at him. He screams as the bullets connect with his arm and shoulder, Jacobi spins and shoots more fire at me.

I duck away just in time. I can hear him move to another branch as I reload my Rifle. When that task is done I search for the red form of the maniac I'm supposed to kill. I just barely catch a glimpse of his figure before I'm forced to duck behind my cover once again. I'm surprised this tree hasn't burned up yet. Probably too big.

I sigh as I try to think up a plan for my latest predicament. My target has flown to a branch so high my bullets couldn't possibly reach him. I wish Harvey or Ardy were here with their sniper rifles. It wouldn't really do much good for me to have one, I'm a terrible shot if you hadn't noticed. That's why I became a scientist in the first place.

My head pokes around my cover once again and I'm forced to watch in frustration as he heals himself with a Med Kit he has stored up there. In anger I pick up a rock and wing it at him with my eyes closed. To both of our surprise it hit him in the side of his head, just below his temple. It stupefies him for a moment and he slides off the branch and falls to the ground.

Unfortunately he snaps out of it before he hit's the floor and begins to fly up to a safe branch. I holster my Assault rifle and pull out my Needler. He screams and drops again as the pink needles embed into his abdomen. He screams louder when they explode into glorious pink mist.

Jacobi's body hit's the ground hard accompanied by a stream of blood. He roars in fury and agony as he shoots more fire at me. This time I duck too late and hit the ground in pain as I feel my back blister. Figures I didn't get burned by the plasma but by an enraged dragon wannabe.

The Musician cackles in delight but I hear it turn into another scream quickly. I roll over to see that Hecate is back up again and is fighting Jacobi. I smile at the pink creature and push myself up, despite my aching back.

He suddenly wraps his hand around Hecate's neck and throws her at me. I instinctively catch her and he takes the advantage to get up and fly away. However, I recover quicker then he anticipated and I shoot him once more with the Needler.

Jacobi throws a fireball in our direction as he tumbles to the ground. I cover Hecate protectively as I dodge behind a tree which is promptly set on fire. I throw us away from the inferno only to see (with a mixture of surprise, horror, and delight) Dylan Jacobi be eaten by the Medusa Marauder on his way to the ground.

I look on in fascination as the plant eats him whole. I step back into the destroyed and scorched clearing with Hecate still in my arms. The little Raptor is rather calm and seems to enjoy being held by me. She's absolutely adorable.

I'm about to get my radio out and ask Cohen whether he'd like a picture of a plant or not when said plant suddenly makes a groaning sound. This is followed shortly after by it regurgitating Dylan Jacobi who is now nothing more then a petrified, dried out husk. The plant then does something completely unexpected. It uproots itself and walks out of the clearing.

Hecate and I blink dumbly as we watch it disappear. Our shock is interrupted, however, by Cohen's twisted voice. "…That was…interesting. I don't think many people imagine their deaths quite like that. It's sort of poetic when you think about it. Now take a photo and bring it back to the Atrium." I simply do as I'm told after I gently set Hecate down.

Five minutes later I am nearly to an exit out of this place and I have been trying unsuccessfully to get the fuzz ball to stop following me. "It's mama died, maybe it wants you as a replacement." Epstein's voice says from nowhere in particular. I sigh and look down at the pink fluff ball. She is rather cute. I don't suppose the Spartan and Ardy would mind me keeping her.

"Okay, come on Catie." It lets out a happy noise and jumps into my arms. She really is adorable. I continue walking towards the exit while petting the pink fluff which had all but become a pile of purring fur.

**-END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN-**

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Authors Notes:

Hey,

I just want to say that Mortified Mind wrote the first part of this (up to where Zee' get frozen by Finnegan) and I wrote the rest. However the animals and the Medusa Marauder were made up by my Co-author.

By the way there is also a reason I have Zee' come up with alternate ways to kill Finnegan and Jacobi. She is not a soldier but a scientist and it simply wouldn't be in character for her to simply run and gun like in the game. Plus that less story worthy.

There's something I wanted to say but I can't remember at the moment.

-KTHM

P.S. By the way, if you haven't noticed this completely disreguards the '_Cole Protocol'_.


	20. Interlude: Pledge of a Devil

**Important!:**

Author's Announcement:

Dear Director…

(*Cough* I mean)

Dear Readers,

I didn't want to post interludes close together but I am doing it just this once because I won't be able to write for about (at most) a week because I am in desperate need for glasses. So until I get them (they said it'd take a week) I won't be posting anything. I'm getting kind of sick of leaning _really_ close to the screen just to see what the hell I'm writing. My eyes are terrible.

Another thing, I have a Poll on my profile. I'd like it very much if you could vote. The Poll is about what story I should do after Halo: Rapture is complete. The Poll will be open until this story is complete.

Also, does anyone have any problems with a John/Cortana pairing? If you do please speak up now or forever hold your peace. Because, Mortified Mind is really pushing for that particular pairing when Cortana appears once again. I will be tallying up the opinions of everyone on paper because I already have a Poll going.

By the way while giving me your opinions on the pairing I would also like your opinion on whether the next story should be done in first or third person.

Thank you everyone,

KTHM

Co-Author's Announcement:

Most of you by now have noticed we have not been placing a lot of audio logs and ghost visions. The reason for this is that we were originally going to put more logs inside the story we even had a little mini-story about an undercover cop who was investigating the smugglers in Neptune's Bounty. However, while the audio logs were a useful and interesting tool in the game it simply was not practical for our story as it went on. We simply couldn't find places to place them and make the chapter work at the same time.

As for the ghosts, well we only found one that was actually useful (Jasmine Jolene) we may have more in the future but that has yet to be decided. Plus, John's Flood DNA would make him more resilient to them in our minds.

And as for John's Plasmids and Tonics. We realize that we have made several oversights and even forgot about giving John several tonics in the earlier chapters (Example: Static Discharge, Armored Shell…and others. We forgot the others). We apologize but you need to simply forget about them for several reasons.

1.) If John were to have too many Plasmids and Tonics it would make him…indestructible. Thus taking away any challenge in the city.

2.) When it was only KTHM writing the story she had originally posted the story on another website and she had originally taken the story in another direction. Then I came along. First it was just opinions and then I find myself writing a little bit at a time. Now I'm writing almost whole chapters.

Again we apologize but the story is now set in stone and we know exactly what we're going to do in later chapters. With few exceptions.

Thank you for your patience with us.

Mortified Mind

P.S. Thank you for your kind reviews.

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Halo: Rapture

Interlude: Pledge of a Devil

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"_Mr. Bubbles, Mr. Bubbles. Are you there? Are you there? Give us lots of lollies. Give us lots of lollies. Cause' we love you. We love you."_

The creature heard the children sing to their guardians around a large fire just outside the: _'Rapture Libraries'_. They were in happy ignorance of what was watching them and at any point could kill them without a second of hesitation. However, it had more pressing and more stimulating projects at the moment such as devouring another lifeless construct that dared to stand in it's way.

This one, this _'Thoth'_, was some type of instructor for these former children as it kept spouting a bunch of nonsense as it took that last of it's being.

"_From Hell's heart I stab at thee; for hates sake I spit my last breath at thee." _

The creature, if it could smile, it would have been a cruel one as it responded icily. _**"Someone once said: 'Madness is easier to bear compared with the truth.' And the truth for you my fortunate friend is that…"**_ It's voice dropped to a thin whisper and purred into what was left of Thoth's operational matrix, _**"I AM HELL'S HEART." **_And with that it tore apart what was left, savoring the 'Taste' of it's latest victim. Unfortunately, it was far from sated and still felt oh, so empty. So the creature continued on it's path to the next target and it's search for… HIM.

The Gravemind claimed to be a superior being but in truth he was just a cleaver incarcerate who, upon his escape, ravished the closest thing he found. While he did show some cunning. Time as it seems did not teach him enough patience as he himself claimed. So…it will wait. It will wait in the shadows. Wait for the right moment to reveal itself to that which it despises the most.

"_**There will be no more sadness. No more anger. No more envy."**_


	21. Parting Is Indeed a Sweet Sorrow

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Eighteen: Parting Is Indeed a Sweet Sorrow

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

_I'm standing in a park that I recognize but don't recognize. Trees surround the grassy field and a great oak tree stands tall above all others. On one of the large roots in the ground a woman with dark hair sat with her eyes closed. She wore lavender and navy blue civilian sundress. _

_I recognize her from somewhere…I call out. Her eyes snap open and she whirls around to look directly at me with deep violet eyes that seem to pierce my soul. She opens her mouth and tried to say something but it sounds as if she is under water as I fade from the scene. _

_____________________________________________________________________________________

My eyes snap open and I climb off the bed I was sleeping on in this crummy hotel room I decided to take a small respite in. That dream…that woman…she seemed so familiar. The woman also felt and looked familiar, her face had a hard angular beauty similar to…no that's just stupid.

I open the door to the room just a crack and see the way was clear. I step back inside, check and clear my weapons, finish the food I took from a fallen vending machine and clandestinely walk out with stealth only achieved through years of Spartan training. I check a nearby map to find the fastest way back to the Atrium. Unfortunately the quickest way turned out to be a dull stroll through a very leaky observational tunnel. On the plus, the view was rather spectacular.

All of Rapture was aglow with lights. Irritating some of the phosphorescing algae that had grown over the buildings, giving everything an almost ethereal quality to this sunken city. Cortana would have loved it…With that last thought I tear my gaze away from the window.

"A penny for your thoughts, little moth?" Cohen's sickening smooth voice suddenly cut in as I reached a small junction leading to a frozen-over hatch and the other that goes back to the Plaza.

"How long have you been watching me Cohen?" I REALLY wasn't in the mood for this. Especially from him.

"Long enough. Is the great Endymion still pinning for his lost beloved, Selene perhaps, hmmm?" He cut the comm. line with a cruel chuckle and left me with my thoughts…leaving one thing for certain in my mind. If I live through all of this, Cohen is a dead man.

I met up with Zee' in Poseidon Plaza an hour later on my way to the Atrium. She happily told me about her walk through the park, so to speak, and her new pet…the thing was honestly the creepiest thing I had ever seen in my life.

"…So what did you name it?" She glares at me as if I have offended her in some way.

"I'll have you know, HER name is Hecate and she is a very intelligent creature. Aren't you Catie?" Zee' coos to the pink fur ball which is purring in contentment while she scratched behind it's head. I just stare at the two carefully; no scientist would name something after the Greek god of death without reason.

"The Major is waiting for us, let's get this over with. The sooner we're out of here the better," She nods but looks at me questioningly for a moment.

"Did you hear the music that was playing in the hall earlier?"

"The one accompanied by red lighting? Yes."

"That was odd, I have never heard human music quite like that before…what was it?"

"A form of music typically known as 'Classical'. No offense intended Zee' but I would have thought it was your job to-"

"It was, however, my superiors did not think it was relevant to know what music humans listened to. 'Classical' or otherwise…but it was lovely so…energetic. I'm surprised that you know so much about music…no offense intended."

"No offense taken Zee'" A slight melancholy slipped into my voice as a memory of Doctor Halsey playing Chopin as she was patching my team and I up. I can't help but wonder where she and Kelly could have gone on her 'Mission' but they are better off then I am.

The Spartan's were the only family I had left. Doctor Halsey had always been like a mother to me and Kelly has been there since the beginning. Kelly, Sam and I so many of the Spartan candidates didn't make it but we did. Blue Team made it through so many campaigns and missions but Sam died on a Covenant Cruiser in the beginning of the war, saving Kelly's and my lives.

And so many others followed after him and if I had to be perfectly honest with myself, I would have preferred to die with them. As if sensing my inner dilemma, Zee' took the hand that was scratching Hecate and placed it on my shoulder turning me to face her. "Are you well Spartan? You seem…distracted." Her voice was cautious but betrayed a hint of concern. Ever since I told her of my…condition and my dreams she had been extra watchful around me.

"Something has happened again with your…Flood syndrome, hasn't it?" Sometimes Zee's blunt and cunning talent for perception scares me.

"Yes, I think its advancing and the…dreams are becoming more frequent and more familiar. But they're still allusive."

"Well my theory, if you will permit me. Is that when you destroyed the Proto Brain-form on the first Halo, most of the Flood became mindless animals driven only by the most basic instincts. One of those would be to build a new Brain-form and later a Gravemind or a Compound-mind, as the Forerunners called it. But when you were infected with the Flood virus, for some reason not yet known, it remained inert until you introduced these Plasmids into your system. Which was a very poor action on your part, by the way. This caused the Floor cells to muster. But with no Gravemind to give orders, they chose to use their own."

I became rigid for a moment at what the implication could mean for my future. Zee' on the other hand looked rather calm and started walking again, with me following close behind.

"Oh, I would not worry yourself. The Flood cells seem to obey your human mind commands and not their own. But as I was saying, the first rule of any life-form is to survive…which given your natural talent to attract havoc, they have a full time occupation. I would then assume that they would then try to improve upon what the have. Your strength, intelligence, endurance and so forth. Then they would add their own unique…touches. Such as their impressive agility and regeneration, you could very well be the very example of what the Forerunners wanted with the Flood."

Before I could even ask she enlightened me further. "Before I was asked to study your kind under the High Prophet of Tolerance, I studied some of the data and personal logs on several Forerunner scientists. Or to be more accurate, a specific group of scientists that kept referring to what they called the: The Apex-form.

Not much was learned about what they were trying to do but we do know that it involved small amounts of Flood cells and 'voluntary' test subjects. I, as well as some of my fellow researches, believed that they were trying to create what you are now."

"And just what am I?"

"Well…to be perfectly candid. A new Flood variant completely independent of a Gravemind with most of its strengths and none of its weaknesses. Such as the constant need to feed. As I have said before, you could be this 'Apex-form' the Forerunners had tried and failed to create. And like most great scientific breakthroughs, it was all a matter of luck!" Zee' stated in an enthusiastic voice.

"Yeah, I'm lucky that way."

"Think of the possibilities! With your cellular regenerative capabilities you could continue living for countless years!"

"So…what you're saying is…I'm immortal?" That was a little disconcerting; I could never imagine living that long. Hell, when I was in the Spartan's I didn't think I'd live past the war.

"Oh, my no. I would think a simple decapitation would do the trick quite nicely or perhaps an acid dip or even a volcano. Perhaps a -"

"Thank you Zee'."

"Who knows, your cellular structure might even start to degrade over time. Reducing you to a gelatinous puddle of-"

"Yes, thank you Zee'. I understand. You don't-"

"Maybe with some exploratory surgery we might even be able to-"

"**THANK**. _YOU_…Zee' I get the picture."

"Oh, my apologize. If you have yet to notice. I tend to get carried away with subjects such as these."

"Really?"

My sarcasm was not missed by Zee' but she just shrugged it off and went back to petting Hecate. After that disturbing conversation we continue walking back to the Atrium. However, as we emerged from the tunnel we found no sigh of the Major. The only sign he had been here was a sizable amount of Splicer corpses in one corner of the Atrium and a rather enormous looking sentinel roasting in a large bonfire.

We moved towards he stairs that lead down to Cohen's 'Masterpiece'. We're just passing _Bella Mia's High Fashion_ when Hecate stirs in Zee's arms and gazes at the storefront window as she starts to growl. I gaze at the creature in confusion before realizing what it sensed. "Oh shi-" Before I can finish my sentence the glass window busted apart and a rather frantic looking Major jumps through it with an arm full of goods, roaring with panic he rushes past us with his eyes closed.

I turn back to the store front just in time to see an enraged Big Daddy come barreling through the wall next to the window completely on fire. I have to tell you it was an amazing sight for the few second I was conscious because the Big Daddy in it's infinite rage charged me instead of the Major. The two of us topple off of the balcony and onto the Atrium floor below.

I remember the crushing pain before passing out to the sounds of Zee's and the Major's voices fading and the world dropping away from me as I slipped into unconsciousness.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_A warm inviting sun beat down upon me and the smell of salty air was all around me. The sounds of waves sloshing upon hot sands and seagulls cawing reached my ears as I look around. It only took me moment to identify where I was. Emerald Cove on Reach before the planet was Glassed. _

_As I walked towards the beach I see the woman from my last dream sitting under a palm tree in the distance. The woman suddenly stirs and looks directly at me with a pair of chillingly familiar lavender eyes. We continue to stare at each other for what seemed like an eternity before she starts to run to me, her face beaming with unfathomable joy. She starts to say something but I could not hear her. She then stops and her face turns into one of sheer panic. _

_I feel myself coming back to reality and the woman's voice became more frantic as if she was trying to warn me about something. I don't know what…but a sense of forbidding filled my consciousness. As I left her I could see her eyes were filled with tears. _

_____________________________________________________________________________________

'_Heaven and earth are not human…'_ And at that moment I couldn't agree with Lao Tzu more. As I opened my eyes the first thing I see are three pink eyes staring right back at me. I carefully remove Hecate off of me chest and place 'her' off to the side. She gave me an indignant look but after it saw a roasted Splicer it forgot all about me and went to gorge itself. As I was clearing off the pink fur that now covered what was left of my armor I noticed that my chest plate was crushed and some of the circuitry could be seen.

"How the hell…" As I slowly become more aware of my surroundings the first thing I felt was a horrible agony coarsing through my entire body. I try to sit up, only o earn a sharp blast of pain. My body sags back to the cold marble floor and that is when I realize I didn't have my helmet on. Confused I try to get a better look around but my eyes are still a little blurry and I was still disoriented from my dreams. That's when I hear a pair of very familiar voices.

"…Well, what did you two do? Crawl all the way here?!" The Major accused jabbing his finger at her.

"Well, my apologize but WE did not have the same leisure assignment you had." Even in the state I'm in Zee's sarcasm comes off in huge waves.

"Leisure! What the hell do you think happened to me?!" He continued to rant.

"Stop yelling you idiot, the Spartan needs rest." Zee' whispered harshly to her livid companion.

"HIM! What about my eye. You said I had to lose it!' His voice rising to an ear splitting octave.

"I did not. I said that you had to wear a bandage for a while. Don't be so melodramatic. _**Gods**__! You're such a child!_ You spent too much time with Cohen." She dismissed with airy wave of her hand.

"And you spend too much time with the Demon." His voice dropping to a bitter whisper.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" She asked completely at a loss as to what he was talking about.

"Oh, let's not, what is the human expression? 'Beat around a bush.' Why don't you just mate with him?"

"AR'DEETH!" Zee' shrieked obviously mortified.

"Do not pretend that you do no want to. You practically admitted it a moment ago."

"All I said was, 'for a human he is attractive'. Not that I wanted to mate with him…take him to my bedchamber perhaps…but not mate." I truly hope she's joking.

"You insufferable female!"

"Arrogant posturing male!"

"You shiz-"

"I'm all ready awake and keep you goddamn voices down! Their could still be Splicers in the area. And where is my helmet?!" I couldn't help but growl at them; I was just not in the mood for stupid bickering. Pushing the pain aside, I try to stand again with Zee' and the Major's help.

"You should get some rest you had a rather nasty-"

"Where is my helmet Zee'?" I asked more politely through clenched teeth. She gave me an exasperated sigh and reached into a bag she must have found while I was unconscious.

"I am afraid this is all that is left of both your helmet and weapons, Spartan." She replied apologetically. What she produced were nothing more then worthless, crumpled bits of scraps. My shotgun was broken and split at the stock to the barrel. My handguns were now bent to the point of snapping right in half…my helmet was smashed beyond repair. The visor was completely gone, nothing more then broken pieces littering the ground where I had fallen. The left side was crushed inward making me surprised that I had no brain damage.

"Hmmm. Guess that explains my head ache but what the hell-"

"Happened?" Zee' finished. I nodded and waited for her to continue. "Well I think Ardy is the best equipped to recount the tale. Don't you agree?" She gave the Major a long look which made him shift his feet nervously before clearing his throat.

"Well…do you want the short version or the long version?"

Major Ar'Deeth, Sangheili Air Force (_Flashback_)______________________________________________

"…_But of course I was younger and more beautiful then."_ I simply grunt and nod as I toss another chair onto the bonfire followed shortly by another corpse. This was the best way I could think of to pass the time. All while Cohen kept up a steady chatter on inconsequential things that I wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to.

I look up from my work as a mortician and have to resist the urge to rub my aching eye. I had torn a piece of a garment a Splicer had been wearing and tied it over my eye. Probably not the best decision considering how filthy the Splicer was and my mind kept flashing back to the times where Zee' would absentmindedly talk about all the things she learned during her time as a medical student. All those atrocious infections…

My good eye scans the upper floor of the Atrium as I drop another corpse on the blazing fire. I stand there for a second and look around. There was a clothing store up there, those garments would probably be better then the disgusting piece of cloth I was wearing now. Well, assuming there was anything left inside the store. I was quite confident that I had killed the last of the Splicers in this area. My theory was proven wrong however when I heard a slight disturbance coming from the clothing shop when I was halfway up the stairs.

"Come on! Come on!! How long does it take!?!"

"Fuck off! There a lot of stuff in the way here!'

"Well, try harder you load!"

By the GODS!!! Where do they all come from!? Fortunately, I had time to recalibrate my Active Camouflage so it no longer shorted out as often. I activate the camouflage and slowly make my way towards the shop. I take the time to observe two Splicers trying to break into some sort of storage container with an explosive device. As I devise a plan to take them both out quickly and efficiently, a Big Daddy comes lumbering and groaning down the hallway. It was oozing foul smelling liquid from several bullet holes that littered it's body.

I follow it's progress with slight apprehension when I realize that it's going into the clothing shop. For what purpose I did not understand nor did I care because it gave me the opportunity to slip in unnoticed.

The Splicers stiffened with fright when they saw the Big Daddy enter and go for a port hole in the far side of the right wall. I swiftly follow behind and subtly grab some garments off the tables when I hear the Splicers talk amongst themselves.

"We should kill it now…while it's weak and-" The one attaching the device says just above a whisper.

"Are you nuts!?!? Just leave it be…unless it brings out one of those tasty little ones. Okay?" The one standing guard responds while licking his lips in a rather perverse way. The sound of rhythmic pounding catches all our attention and making us look back in the direction of the Dig Daddy. The thing was trying to (unsuccessfully) bring out a _Gatherer_. I also observe it becoming more and more agitated as the time went by and the two Splicers were getting nervous themselves.

"Look, just get it done and we can go without getting drilled. All right? So, hurry your ass UP!"

"Hey! Do you know how much I had to use on this thing? If I do something wro-" _**BANG!!!!!!!!!!**_ The resulting explosion knocked me off of my feet and sent me flying back against and over the store counter. Slightly dazed, I stood up shakily to find several fried Splicers and a VERY ANGRY Big Daddy fully ablaze, staring straight at me. It was then that I noticed that my cloaking device had deactivated in the explosion.

So, taking all this in I do the one logical thing. I roared a challenge at him and he yelled one in kind as he charged at me and I ducked out of the way. He got lodged in the counter top so I took the opportunity to jump for the window and into you and unworthily for you Demon, in it's blind rage, it ran at you instead of me. That's how you ended up falling to the ground floor with a Big Daddy crushing you."

_(End of Flashback)_ Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________

We then, with some effort, pulled the Big Daddy off as well as most of your armor…you were quite a mess if I do say so myself. I know a lot about Human biology so I could tell immediately you had a lot of internal bleeding, numerous contusions and lacerations. It is most fortuitous that were infected with the mutated Flood virus, other wise you would have died a most painful death before recuperating." Zee' informed me a little too cheerfully for my taste.

"Cohen also would like me to tell you that we got some 'tasteful' photos of you as you fell and when you were conscious…in case you're interested." The Major informed me sardonically, obviously as pleased about it as I am. "Well, come Spartan. We have already placed your holo-stills on the pads. Cohen, however, wanted you conscious before he will let us-" He cleared his throat before continuing, "Witness the birth of it's true greatness." He said gesturing towards the Quadtych.

"First, I need a weapon." Zee' promptly pulls the Assault Rifle off of her back and hands it to me with about five extra clips. I quickly pull it apart and give it a look over; it appeared to check out so I then reassemble my new rifle in a matter of seconds. "Thank you Zee'." She nods her appreciation.

"So I guess its time for the grand unveiling of this appalling thi-" the Major cuts Zee' off with a sharp look.

"Say nothing of it…trust me." She nods, albeit in confusion.

"Alright, lets get this over with so we ca-" All of a sudden the room is cast into darkness and the Quadtych is hit with a spotlight high up in the ceiling. Then a holo-pad next to the stair banister comes to life where Epstein the Swami now stood with a look of pure indifference on his face. A drum roll started to beat throughout the Atrium and with a crash of a cymbal…there stood Cohen with immaculate timing. He was dressed in a slightly torn but none-the-less elegant old fashioned tuxedo with a dying rose in his lapel…and a bunny mask obscuring his features. I never, in my whole life, wanted a Sniper Rifle so badly.

"It. Is. Accomplished!" He exclaimed triumphantly and with a graceful sweep of his hand a fanfare started playing as he dramatically stepped down the stairs through a cloud of colorful confetti. The man was waving to a nonexistent clapping and cheering crowd. The audience that did exist (Zee', the Major and myself) were standing stock still with the exception of Epstein who was clapping disinterestedly. He must be accustomed to these grotesque displays. Meanwhile, Cohen stopped halfway down and tore off his mask as he exclaimed, "Let me see it!" As he continued downward he gasped in an almost childish awe at the sight of his masterpiece and was on the verge of tears. "My god, my god, my god, my god, my god! It's…its beautiful."

When he finally reaches the bottom of the stairs he stares at the Quadtych like a loving parent to their first born child. The though alone caused my stomach to twist, especially to think how this abomination came to be. I see the Major's hands slowly reach for one of his weapons and from the look in his good eyes, I can tell it was taking all of his self control not to leap over and twist off Cohen's head. This was not the time. We still need him. So I reach over and stop his hand from wrapping around his Plasma Rifle. He looks at me and nods in understanding. When I turn away I hear him mutter something in his native tongue. Probably a pledge for revenge against Cohen, I couldn't agree more.

Cohen then turned towards the three of us with a look of wonder and gratitude of his heavily makeup laden face. Then spoke in a very refined yet even voice. "You will find your way to Ryan is now clear." With a small gesture of his hand the fanfare stopped and he continued to look at us as if considering something. Then he smiled, a very unnerving smile, he mentioned with his hand to follow him. "I would like you to have a small token of my gratitude and our time together. Especially for the coup de theatre. You were all spectacular! So full of life and vigor!" We continue to follow him apprehensively, fully aware that he was still a dangerous lunatic.

We were lead to two glass containers. The first held a dark, ornate box wrapped in several chains. The second, the one Cohen held open, held a canvas covered with black silk. "Perhaps if you had turned out to be one of my TRUE disciples you may have had a chance to see inside The Box!!!" Cohen then paused for dramatic affect. "But…you might find this a bit more…revealing." The way he purred that last word made my skin crawl. However, I restrained myself and took the canvas he offered to me. When my forest green eyes saw what was on it my blood ran cold.

On the canvas was an artistic representation (if that's what it can be called) of the photos the Major and Zee' mentioned before. Zee' was right, it wasn't a pretty sight. I lay spread eagle with blood pooled around my body, particularly my upper half, giving me the impression that I had wings. A small remnant of flame adorned my head that looked like a crown of fire. Zee' and the Major stood on either side of me laughing. And the final oddity to it all was cherubs. Cobb, Maeve, Cussler, Jacobi, Finnegan and Rodriguez were also bathed in fire.

I turn to Cohen with unimaginable rage controlled only by years of my Spartan training. Cohen for his part had an almost delirious dream-like look on his face as he caressed it with white gloved hands and was whispering to himself, "I have always wanted to paint and angel." I shake my head and adopted the most civil tone I could mange. "I am…unworthy of such a…gift. Please keep it…with my gratitude." He simply nods and takes the picture from my hands and places it back on it's easel. 'Now. GO!" He commands with dramatic flourish as he points towards a set of double doors we first came here from. We saw no reason to stay or argue.

"Let's get the hell out of here before he decides we would look better as sculptures." Zee' whispers hurriedly as she scoops up Hecate and places her in her newly acquired sack. We walked quickly towards the exit like wanderers coming out of the desert. When the doors open we all pull our weapons out and check the shadows, corners, and other such places for Splicers. We found none so we all made our way to the Bathysphere at a brisk but cautious pace, still mindful of any unwanted surprises. However, when we enter the Rapture Metro station we see no one between us and the Bathysphere.

Naturally, we made a run for it. That hunk of metal was the most beautiful piece of machinery I had ever laid eye upon. The Major and Zee' must have had similar thoughts as they increased the pace to the pod. And when we reached the small gate that surrounded the Bathysphere…it blew up into a brilliant display of fire and water. We watched it sink down, taking our hopes with it. We just stare at where it used to be for what seemed like an eternity. Then we look at each other before we all said exactly the first thing that came to mind:

"Shit."

**-END OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Co-Author's Notes:

Dear Chairmen,

(*Whispering*)

_What really? Oh......._

Dear Kind Readers,

I wrote most of this so if you think it sucked complain to me, not my sister. (I HATE writing soliloquies!) And it is a bit over dramatic I admit. But we were a bit stuck at the time of writing this, my muse kept sending out major negative waves. DEEP HURTING! DEEP HURTING! (*coughs*) But I digress. I hope you can see past its flaws and still enjoy it anyway. Again thanks for the reviews!

-Sincerely yours,

A Mortified Mind

P.S. Today's random fact: A goldfish can kill a gorilla but it requires a substantial amount of surprise.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone,

Well, I got my glasses (finally) and now I can start writing again. To be honest this chapter could have been posted a little while ago but Mortified Mind wanted me to look at it but I didn't have glasses so…you know. I don't really have much to say really.

Oh! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it and I really appreciate your guy's patience with us.

-KTHM

**Q&A**

_Thank you everyone who read and reviewed. _

anti hitler-

Yes. I know they are called Little Sisters and not Little Siblings. But neither myself nor Mortified Mind thought it was fair so we made it both genders instead. Remember its Fanfiction.

-KTHM

Chindu Prince of Darkness-

Congratulations! You spotted the homage to RVB: Reconstruction in my Notes for the interlude.

As for your question…I can't really answer that yet. Most everything will be answered by the end of Hephaestus.

-KTHM

_Thanks everyone!_

_-KTHM & Mortified Mind _


	22. On the Road Again

**PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING! IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!!**

**DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER UNTIL YOU READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!**

_**AUTHOR'S ANNOUNCEMENT!**_

Alright everyone, here's the deal. This chapter is completely filler, padding, stuffing, packing, or whatever you want to call it. Nothing important happens and there is no plot development! The only reason this chapter exists is because _someone_ (I won't name names) requested a Ghost/Warthog chase scene. We certainly didn't have to put it in but we wanted to make a point. The Point is: DON'T GIVE US REQUESTS UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES! When requests are made, Filler Chapters are born. I hope you people learn your lesson.

You guys are certainly welcome to skip this chapter if you so choose and if that's your choice here is a vague summary of what happens in this chapter:

-They find the Rapture Transit Station.

-They meet up with Harvey and catch a ride on his Warthog (a Troop Carrier).

-John tells a neat little story I completely made up about how he first learned to drive a Warthog. (This takes up most of the chapter and features other Spartans)

-They are attacked by Splicers driving Ghosts.

-They get rid of the ghosts and continue on to Hephaestus.

I'd certainly appreciate it if you read this chapter but like stated previously, _you don't have to_.

Thank you for your patience.

-KTHM

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Nineteen: On the Road Again

Major Ar'Deeth, Sangheili Air Force________________________________________________________

We continued to stare at the wreckage of our only way out of this hellhole and curse whomever it was in the universe that took a perverse pleasure in tormenting us in this fashion. The Spartan was the first to break away from the wreckage and started walking off towards one of the panels in the water. Zee' also looked towards him with the same confusion I was in and started after him with me guarding the rear.

"What is it Spartan? What is over there?" Zee' asked once he stopped at the edge of the railing looking down at the water as if he was looking for something.

"You two didn't hear that?"

"Hear what Demon? There is noth.-" That's when we all heard the singing from the opposing side of the platform, followed by a haunting melody.

"_There must be somewhere out of here_

_Said the Joker to the Thief_

_There's too much confusion here_

_I can't get no relief._

_Businessmen, they drink my wine_

_Plowmen dig my earth_

_None of them along the line_

_Know what any of it's worth._

_No reason to get excited,_

_The thief he kindly spoke_

_They're already among us_

_Though their life is but a joke._

_But you and I, we've been through that _

_And this is not our fate_

_So let us not speak falsely now_

_The hour is getting late._

_All along the watchtower-" _

The construct that called itself The Swami and his pets put down their instruments when they noticed we have been listening and regarded us with a harsh glare.

"Do you know how long I have been trying to get your attrition!? The three of you were standing there for two hours straight! For the love of **Vishnu**, Sahib! How hard did you hit your head!? These two idiots have better attention spans then you now!" He said gesturing to his pets on ether side of him.

"We prefer the term 'Programs of questionable intellect' with all do respect master." Said one of them lazily. And his response was to slam the lids of their baskets down on them.

"I can't take you guys anywhere, can I? 'Sigh.' But, better the Devil you know, right? Don't you worry Sahib. I have a cunning plan. A plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel."

"Is there another way to get to Hephaestus?" Epstein just disappeared from the holo-pad and a second later a noise sounded and the ground rumbled. To the right of the catwalk the water drained away to reveal a dark tunnel.

We look at each other before we shrug and walk together into the darkness. The Spartan activated his rifle lamp as we descended to illuminate a door at the end of the stairway that said in bold letters: '**Fort Frolic Station**'. Zee' pushed the door open to find ourselves in some type of garage with large vehicles obviously meant to transport a large group of people. All of said vehicles were in various states of disrepair.

"I didn't think Rapture had a Bus Station." The Spartan muttered as we walk further into the large warehouse like room. Zee' was just about to split from us to find a map of the area while we search for a vehicle when the murmurs of someone speaking echoed from somewhere close by. Obviously, we go to investigate.

As we came closer we heard the sound of static coming from a radio before a voice sounded, "And what is today's code phrase?" The voice was unfamiliar, though the second voice was uncomfortably well-known.

"It is a cold day for pontooning…listen Charlemagne, I need a favor…will you stop crying! I haven't even asked you yet! What the hell is wrong with you?! Well fine then! I don't need you! Schmuck!" Harvey turned away from the radio and looked over at us. "Oh, hi Chief. Zee'. Red." Smile present on his grease stained face as he greeted us before he pulled a rag from the back pocket of his mechanic's uniform and wiped his face.

"How did you know we were coming?"

"Biblical prophecy." He answers without pause as he turns and heads out of sight behind a bus. We follow him to see that he is looking under the hood of a Warthog, more specifically, a troop carrier.

"Where's Bittermen?"

"Bill and Victor needed him to help repair something." Harvey's voice is distracted as he fiddles with some of the machinery in the vehicle. There was silence for a few moments before the Spartan spoke.

"Harvey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Doesn't mean I have an answer though. But I'll do my best to elucidate."

"I've been hearing things about a civil war started by a man named Frank Fontaine but I don't see how a smuggler could destroy things so much so fast."

"Well, I would say that the seeds of war started when Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum discovered the sea slug in Port Neptune with the help of a dock worker. After studying the thing for a while she tried to get help from various labs around Rapture, all of which turned her down."

"I take it she went to Fontaine as a last resort." I say as I examine the Bus Station more closely.

"Mmmhhmm. Obviously he agreed to get her supplies and Fontaine Futuristics was created."

"Tenenbaum met Fontaine?"

"No, she met his lackeys; no one meets Fontaine in person. Anyway, they find out that they need human hosts to mass produce ADAM. That's how the Little Sibling orphanage was established. After that they came across Dr. Suchong who told Fontaine about a different way to use ADAM, which would be Tonics. For a while everything was good.

"Then complaints started coming in about side-affects. That's when Ryan and the council really got involved. Unfortunately since the Plasmids were such a popular product nothing was done publicly to reverse the problem aside from a weak effort to regulate ADAM."

"After a couple of months Ryan tried to muscle in on Fontaine's profits and that's when Fontaine's House for the Poor was made. Basically, a training ground for an army of Splicers. That's when the civil war got into full gear. Ryan wanted Fontaine dead.

"Fontaine attacks with Splicers and Ryan retaliates. This starts the arms race. Everything continued like that for a while until Fontaine attacks the New Year's Eve ball. Apparently, Fontaine himself had taken part in the attack and ended up getting burned to death by a panicking citizen."

"I take it Ryan then seized Fontaine Futuristics and all its funds." Zee' states with a contemplative look on her face.

"That's right."

It was the Spartan that spoke next. "Where does Atlas come into this?" Good question.

"Atlas came out of nowhere a little after Fontaine died and put together the rebellion. That's when Ryan authorized Capitol Punishment." Harvey then slammed the hood of the Warthog shut and wiped the grease off of his hands and face."

"Does it work Harvey?" Zee' asked in a hopeful voice.

"Let's find out." He answers as he slams the hood shut, the sound echoing through the cavernous area. He then climbed into the front seat and turned on the ignition. It turned on without a flaw and Harvey gave a victorious smirk. "Well, you guys ready to head to Hephaestus?"

"You're going to take us there?" The Spartan seemed like he didn't like the idea.

"Sure." The mechanic answer unperturbed.

"No. I'm driving." His tone left no room for argument. Harvey sighed but did not argue as he transferred himself to the passenger's seat.

"Well… in the name of ALL extreme spots fanatics. It looks good! ….But you go first." Zee' laughed at Harvey's joke and got into the back of the Warthog with me following shortly after.

The minute we shifted Harvey's junk out of the way so we could sit the Spartan put his foot on the accelerator and we were off at a pace Zee' obviously didn't approve of. "Where did you learn to drive?!?!" She yelled as she hung onto the first stable surface she could find.

"Officially or unofficially?"

_(The Chief's Story of _'How He Learned to Drive'-No Point of View_)________________________________

An eight year old John-117, designated Blue-Team, leader groaned in pain as he regained consciousness. Everything hurt and his vision was fuzzy, not to mention he felt like vomiting. He took a deep breath and blinked several times to clear his vision.

When the world stopped spinning emerald green leaves and rain soaked branches obscured his vision of what should have been a cloudy sky. The boy swallowed and tried to move only to feel a sharp pain shoot through his chest and left ankle.

Groaning again, John assessed the situation as he swiveled his head from side-to-side to get a view of his surrounding without moving too much. As far as he could tell, his parachute had gotten caught in a _very_ large tree native only to Reach. His ribs were aching and possibly broken while his ankle was most definitely sprained.

John closed his eyes and willed himself to recall what had happened to get him in this situation. _'Oh…oh yeah…that's right…'_

They had been dropped into another one of CPO Mendez's training exercises. Pretty routine but the real problem was that it had been raining for a couple of days on and off, not to mention the wind storms that had been brewing.

Mendez hadn't cared and dropped them from the Pelican anyway. Unfortunately the wind had picked up to a ridiculous pace and everyone was blown off course from the intended drop zone. Not only that but John's parachute decided not to deploy on its own and the eight year old had plummeted to the ground.

He had managed to pull the safety cable on the chute right before he hit the tree tops of the forest. The white UNSC parachute caught on the branches and stopped the youth's untimely death but not before John had quite a tumbled and ultimately slammed into several trees, hard. He obviously lost consciousness, for how long he couldn't tell.

Young John was now suspended in the parachute harness high off the ground. The chestnut haired boy licked his busted lip and looked around for a solution to his problem. Mendez probably had Marines looking for them but that gave John little comfort. The soldiers would probably get him down and then tie him up and throw him in a cell. The eight year old didn't particularly want to be a P.O.W in this training exercise.

But unfortunately, as John looked around, he couldn't see many options open to him. That was until he heard a whistle cut sharply through the air. With a smile of relief he whistled back an answer and within a matter of minutes he was met with a pair of wide brown eyes and a playful smirk. "Problems Johnny?"

"No Alice, I figured I'd see why monkeys like trees so much. And _don't_ call me Johnny." Looking completely unperturbed by John's sarcasm she simply turned her head and gave a sharp whistle further down the branches.

After hearing the leaves rustle for a few moments a blond boy appeared just below them with a combat knife held between his teeth. "Sam, a little help." The blond gave a teasing salute and grabbed the knife as he moved into a better position.

"Hey, wait. How do you plan on getting me down without having me plummet to my death?" He honestly trusted his fellow Spartan trainees but Alice-130 and Sam-34 had the tendency to do things without thinking of long term affects.

"Don't worry Dougie and Mike are down there, they're getting ready with a plan as we speak. Sam cut 'em loose."

"Wait! I don't think-" John didn't get to finish that thought because his harness gave a jerk before he found himself falling at an uncontrolled rate.

He squeezed his green eyes shut thinking he was about to become overly acquainted with the forest floor. The air in his lungs was suddenly torn as he hit and bounced on thick, white cloth. If his ribs weren't broken before, they were now.

John shakily opened his eyes to find that he wasn't quite at the ground but at safe distance that he could easily climb or jump down from. The boy glared up at the two figures that he could just barely make out much higher up in the trees.

"You okay John?" The Blue Team leader turned away from Sam and Alice to see Mike and Douglas-042 perched on a tree branch that part of the parachute was tied to.

"I'll be fine." Neither boy believed John but didn't say a thing. After trying to get off the parachute himself without much success John asked for help. By the time Mike and Douglas got John off of the large cloth and onto the ground Sam and Alice had climbed down from the branches.

John leaned against the trunk of the tree and slowly slid down to a sitting position. His leg was throbbing painfully and he simply couldn't stand on it. That's when the young recruits heard grass crunching under running feet. The standing eight year olds grabbed their combat knives and jumped in front of John to defend him.

Instead of someone running through the bushes they jumped clean over them and crashed into Sam and Douglas. The figure turned out to be none other then Adrianna, Spartan -111. Her blue eyes widened in delight at the sight of her fellow Spartan's and a wide smile overtook her face. "Finally! Some friendly faces."

"Adie, do me favor." Sam said in a strangled voice from under the small dog pile he had ended up in.

"Hmmm."

"Get off of me!" She gave a hurt look before climbing off of Douglas who in turn got off of Sam. The girl looked around at the people assembled in the area before her eyes rested on John.

"What happened?" John simply pointed up at the ragged parachute he had been dropped in and the parachute he had been saved by.

"You're lucky. Jai landed in a lake and got tangled in his parachute. He would have drowned but the Marines grabbed him and gave him CPR…then they tied him up and threw him in the back of a Warthog. All I could do was watch from atop of the waterfall." There was regret in her Slavic accented voice as the events replayed in her head.

"There's nothing you could have done." John said in an attempt to comfort her. "But what about the other people that are missing form our teams, Jerome and Kelly?" He looked between Sam, Alice and Douglas for an explanation.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck as he replied, "I haven't seen Kelly since the Pelican." The blond lowered his hand and shrugged. "I was lucky enough to get blown into a deserted clearing but it was way off course from the DZ so I decided to get somewhere safe until I could figure out what was going on. I eventually ended up hiking to the intended DZ coordinates but on the way I met up with Alice and Doug." John nodded in acceptance to Sam's explanation and turned to the present Red Team members.

Alice looked skyward as she summoned the memories from her mind. "Jerome, Dougie and I landed near a Marine patrol route so we were spotted before we even hit the ground. Unfortunately the Marines that were closest had dogs with them. Jeromemanaged to distract them so the two of us could get away. It's safe to assume they captured him." Alice finally removed her gaze from the tree canopy and turned it to the grass under her boots.

John grimaced; a simple wind storm had completely messed up the operation. At this rate they were bound to all get captured considering they had no contact anyone else. For all John knew everyone else had been captured. The odds weren't in their favor.

But this didn't mean John would give up, no, not by a long shot…

Not being the one for inspirational speeches, he simply pulled himself up on one foot and looked around at his comrades assembled before him. In his best impression of an officer he spoke, "Alright. Let's move out people! Marines can stumble upon us at any minute. We need to find a suitable spot for a base camp so we can come up with a strategy. All location discussed prior to landing are now considered to be compromised. Assume all other Spartans to be captured." He quickly drew up lists of everyone's talents and assigned them a duty.

"Adrianna, Douglas. You're my scouts. Go ahead and keep to the shadows. Use bird calls instead of whistles. Get moving!" The two snapped salutes and disappeared silently through the brush. "Sam, take point. Alice, get our six. Mike…I need your help."

The three expertly did as they were told without complaints. John felt useless as Mike helped him walk and listening carefully for anything that might sound like Adrianna and Douglas. The brunette had been tempted to ask them to leave him behind but already knew they would protest.

After only five minutes of walking they heard the sound of a canary that brought them to an immediate halt. A few moments later Adrianna jumped gracefully from the trees above and landed in front of Sam. "You guys have got to come and see this." She stated, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. The girl turned and gestured for them to follow.

It was only a couple minutes later that they found themselves all assembled in a clearing staring at an empty Warthog. Tied to a tree a few feet away were two Marines who had been neglecting their scouting duties. The eight year olds had ambushed them and used their uniforms as ropes and gags. Both men were unconscious in nothing but their underwear.

"What should we do with it Johnny?" For the moment he ignored the 'Johnny' and instead thought of several possible answers to Alice's question. One answer kept popping into his mind.

"Drive it." The others gawked at their leader like he had temporary leave of his sanity.

"B-but we don't know how to drive." Sam protested the others nodded in agreement.

John shrugged, "How hard could it be? Besides this could give us the tactical advantage we need. Plus I can't exactly go into battle in my condition. So Mike, can you hotwire it?" The blond scratched his short hair as he eyed the vehicle in thought.

"I could give it a go." He answered finally before walking towards the driver's seat and climbed in. Mike pulled his combat knife out and used it as a makeshift screwdriver to get the panel under the steering wheel off. John nodded in satisfaction before having Sam help him to the passenger's seat to sit down. The Blue Team leader dug around under the seat to find a long suitcase like box the he discovered was locked and a med-kit.

He handed the suitcase to Douglas and Alice took the med-kit and began bandaging John up the best she could. "Hopefully you don't have internal bleeding." He didn't think so but the thought of it made the boy pale slightly. He had seen people in that condition, it wasn't pretty.

"Hey guys, look! Stun grenades!" Douglas's rough voice said. He was kneeling on the ground with the case open in front of him. He had broken the lock using his knife and a rock.

"Hey, Dougie you okay? Your voice doesn't sound so good." Sam asked from where he sat on the Warthog's hood.

"Yeah, I just need some water. My throat dries out easily." He answers in a distracted sort of way.

"Are you sure those are Stun Grenades?" Adrianna asked after checking that the 'ropes' on the prisoners would hold even after they woke.

"Of course. Why would they use real grenades in an exercise?"

"I don't know. Why would they drop us into a forest during a wind storm?"

"You're just a pessimist."

"No, I'm a projectionist. You know, someone who attributes their flaws to others." Suddenly the roar of the Warthog's engines cut through the stillness of the clearing.

"Saddle up people!" Mike called cheerfully as he reattached the panel under the steering wheel. The blond hopped out of the vehicle and stood to the side. "Hey, uh, John I don't think your tall enough to reach the pedals and still see." He stated while watching as Sam helped his friend into the driver's seat.

"I've already thought of that. Which is why Sam is going to operate the pedals while I steer." A surprised Sam unceremoniously dropped John into the driver's seat.

"When did I volunteer exactly?"

"When I discovered you were the tallest Spartan. Now quite complaining and sit down." John stated in an unconscious impression of CPO Mendez. The driver's seat was big enough to accommodate both eight year olds comfortably. Sam sat down beside his Team Leader without further complaints and discovered that he could indeed reach the pedals if he sat on the edge of the seat. The sandy blond couldn't drive by himself however because he could only barely see out the windshield.

John placed the med-kit underneath him and used it as sort of a booster that allowed him to see everything perfectly but made sure his feet couldn't touch the floor of the car. Meanwhile Adrianna happily got into the passenger's seat and dug through the glove compartment for anything interesting.

Alice and Douglas stood unsurely outside of the car as they eyed it critically. "You know…I think it looks more like a cat then a pig…" Alice stated in her soft voice as she delayed getting in. She trusted John's leadership capabilities but she didn't trust his nonexistent driving skills.

"Yeah, guys what does the star on the side mean?" Douglas asked as he looked from the white painted star and at the other children.

"Maybe it has to do with the company of Marines we're against." Adrianna stated as she examined a map of the area she had discovered.

"She's right. The Marine's team flag has a star on it. Now stop worrying and get on." Mike said from his spot beside Adrianna in the passenger's seat. The two Red Team members looked at each other unsurely before climbing into the back of the Warthog.

"Right…now let's see…" John summoned up a memory of watching his Marine handler driving a Warthog around the time he had first arrived on Reach. He grasped the stick beside the steering wheel and moved it to the 'D' painted in white. "Okay Sam. Take it away."

The blond blinked light green eyes and looked into John's darker ones in confusion. "How would you like me to do that?"

Mike looked at Sam, "Guess. Trail and error always works for me." Frowning, Sam tried one pedal and then the other until they were propelled forward and nearly hit a tree if not for John's quick reflexes. The car turned sharply to avoid the collision and spun all the way around so they were facing the opposite side of the clearing.

Sam's eyes were wide and his foot remained firmly on the break. John looked around to make sure everyone was alright. Alice and Douglas had grabbed onto the chain-gun for safety and the two Spartans in the passenger's seat were cracking up as they released their hands from the dashboard. "Alight, let's try that again. Sam, a little easier on the accelerator this time." The taller boy looked at John incredulously at what he just suggested but John calmly gazed back at him until Sam switched his foot carefully to the other pedal.

This time they moved forward at an easier pace and John carefully steered them vaguely on a dirt road they had discovered shortly after leaving the clearing. Adrianna was relaxing in the seat as she studied the map. "This road should take us straight to the Marine's base or…a long drive back to our barracks."

"Are we at least going the right direction?" Alice asked from where she was studying the 50 millimeter weapon she was standing beside.

"According to the compass on the dashboard, yes." John was silent as he steered except for his occasional commands to Sam. His mind was contemplating various plans and scenarios. The best of his ideas relied heavily on surprise. That reaction shouldn't be hard obtain. Six eight year olds crashing the compounds gates in a stolen Warthog? The boy doubted they'd see it coming.

"I have a plan…."

______________________________

A little later the six Spartan trainees had discussed the plan to exhaustion and were getting ready to implement it. Sam was crouched down on the floor of the Warthog leaving him completely invisible to anyone out side of the car. John was sitting on his knees making him look taller and he was wearing part of a pilfered Marine's uniform. Adrianna was similarly hiding like Sam was on the floor of the passenger's seat. Mike was sitting as casually as he could on the grenade box with a pristine white admiral's hat and uniform jacket. An unlit cigar hung loosely from his lips and a pair of dark sunglass obscured his face. The two reaming Spartans were hiding under a tarp in the back of the Warthog.

Adrianna had found the spare article of Admiral's clothing folded neatly under her seat and John's outfit was from their Marine prisoners.

As they casually approach the compound their nervousness melted away as the Marine's inside spotted the Warthog with the single star and scrambled to get the gates open. The minute the gates were open John sharply told Sam to speed up before the Marine's saw through their hoax.

The vehicle shot through the gates and into the compound as Mike grabbed the grenade box and snapped it open as both he and Adrianna started tossing grenades. As that was happening Douglas had thrown the tarp off of and stood up and let Alice climb on his shoulders so she could reach the trigger on the 50 mil.

The Marine's panicked immediately and ran to get their weapons as John drove erratically through the compound. Alice small hands gripped the trigger and fired a powerful burst that nearly knocked her and Douglas over. Instead of being put off by the kickback she gave a wicked grin and proceeded to fire at anything and everything. Several shots hit fuel tanks and caused explosions to rock the compound in combination with the randomly tossed grenades (that were most certainly not of the stun variety).

Before the Marines could rally themselves, Sam used the break and the Warthog came to a screeching halt. Mike quickly jumped out and ran through a door and into the simple temporary facility in search for the Marine's flag. The minute Mike was out Sam slammed the accelerator and they were off again. Moving as erratically as possible to shake up the Marines until Sam returned.

___________Meanwhile___________

In the trees around the compound the rest of the Spartan's who had landed near where they were supposed to land watched in shock at the unfolding chaos. This was most certainly not part of the plan….

Spartan-104 Fred leaned close to Linda-058 and whispered, "Was there a Plan B I wasn't told about?" Linda simply shook her head disbelieving as she continued to look through her Sniper Rifle.

Fred's radio crackled and Kelly's voice sounded. _"What the hell are they doing?!"_ Fred just shook his head.

"_Let's go find Jai, Fhajad and Jerome before they can re-group and counter-attack." _Kurt's voice stated in an amused tone. _"Grace, Isaac let's go." _

"Well…we needed a distraction…."Linda murmured as she prepared to give the three cover.

_____________Later____________

The six Spartans trainees fidgeted in uncomfortable chairs as they stared at an absolutely pissed off Mendez while an amused Dr. Halsey read the reports from the Marines. "Why did you little Hellspawns deem it necessary to steal and completely _**total**_ Admiral Benson's _personal_Warthog and tie up his driver and aide?!" His voice dropped to a hiss, "_I'll see to it that none of you ever set foot into a vehicle of any kind_ **EVER AGAIN**!" He bellowed loud enough for everyone in the building to hear. After a deep breath and a pause he looked at the six of them again and added in a much quieter tone. "Off the record. I'm impressed at the distraction you pulled off so the others could rescue the hostages and get the flag at the same time. It was very well coordinated."

The eight year olds looked at each other in confusion. _Coordinated?_

(_End of Filler Story_) Master Chief, Spartan-117_______________________________________________

That was when a bright blue shot went right over my head and I duck as I quickly glance over my shoulder and behind Zee'. I blink at the Ghosts chasing us before turning my attention to the road and began a serpentine pattern to decrease the chances of us getting hit.

The Major and Zee' have gotten as low as they can in the back of the Warthog and are reaching for their weapons with one hand and holding on with the other. Annoyance and anger graced the features of the two Sangheili.

Harvey hadn't even changed facial expressions as he calmly climbed into the back of the Warthog and politely moved around the Major and Zee' as he digs into the junk piled around them. "Excuse me Red. Sorry Zee'." He excused himself while pushing things aside as if he were simply looking through junk that had accumulated in his attic seemingly unaware of the Splicer's, the plasma shots or the continual swerving of the Warthog. "I don't remember buying this…"

Meanwhile, the Major had his Battle Rifle out and was taking shots at the Splicers but they kept moving out of the way and the Warthog's movements made it difficult to keep aim on anything. Zee' kept down and alternated between watching the Major's growing frustration and Harvey's treasure hunt.

"Ugh, used gum." Harvey muttered in disgust as he threw a wrapper over the side of the vehicle. "Oh, hey. Here it is!" He was looking at a large case that he pried open and examined the contents for a moment. "Uh, Zee', care to give your ol' pal Harvey a hand?" The green armored Sangheili moved closer to Harvey and looked over his shoulder.

"Well, this is different…alright maybe if you…no the other one…hmmm…" Zee' and Harvey were huddled together as they messed with whatever Harvey had in the case. As another shot sang over my head and slightly singed my short brown hair. That's it.

I turn in my seat; summon my Winter Blast and freeze the Ghost I'm assuming shot me. The Splicer on it screams loudly as it stalls and spins into another Ghost. The frozen Ghost shatters into a million pieces but the second one hits the tunnel wall and explodes. Neither driver survived.

The Major goes slack jawed in shock as he looks up from the scope. His mandibles suddenly tighten and his gripe on the Battle Rifle becomes dangerously close to crushing the weapon. "Hey…Ardy, could you give us a hand?" Zee' asks without looking over at her adopted brother, completely engrossed in whatever project Harvey Shanghaied her into.

The only response she received was to have the Major roar in anger as he holsters his Rifle and jumps from the Warthog as hard as he can. The red armored pilot lands perfectly on the hood of a two seater ghost and spins to kick the driver off. The Splicer screams as he is sent flying under the Warthog's tire. The car rocks making Harvey and Zee' look over at the Major in agitation.

We see the angered Sangheili elbow the Splicer sitting behind him in the chin causing its head to snap back and its neck to break. The limp body simply slides out of the Ghost and the Major slams on the breaks. This causes the last remaining Ghosts to get ahead making them perfect shooting targets.

The Major manages to hit a Plasma Tank on one of the opposing Ghosts and causes it to explode into purple and blue fire. Zee' suddenly turns around and watches as the Ghosts focus their attention on Ar'Deeth. She calls to the Major in their own language and he shoots one last shot before hitting the boost and maneuvering in front of us.

That's when Harvey stands and lets out a maniacal laugh fit only for a super villain as a jet of flames bursts from an odd contraption he holds firmly in his arms. The Splicer screams as they are engulfed in the flames of the make-shift flame thrower.

I force myself to keep my eyes on the road so we don't crash but I can hear perfectly the sound of the Ghost's Plasma Tanks igniting from the fire. Harvey continues laughing even after he sits down once again. After a few moments there is some rustling and annoyed growling. It seems the commotion has awakened Hecate. "Oh, honey! I'm sorry the noise woke you! Don't worry it's over you can go back to sleep." Zee' murmurs to her pink pet and I just know she's petting it. I was proven wrong however, when she climbed onto my head and fell asleep. Then …Harvey started to sing.

"_I don't want to set the world on fire_

_I just want to start a flame in your heart…"_

This is going to be a long drive…

**-END OF CHAPTER NINETEEN-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Co-Author's Notes:

Certainly not one of our best (Sigh) However there is indeed a season for all things.

**STANDARD SONG DISCLAIMER **….UMMM…. DO NOT OWN?

The first one I heard on You Tube but who ever posted it did not label the track… but posted the lyrics, weird yes? And it's been stuck in my head for a while now. So I wrote it down in the hopes it would go away saving me the trouble of having to kill myself.

The song Harvey starts to sing is owned by the _Ink Spots_. I heard it in Port Neptune and I thought it was somehow …appropriate for the moment.

-

**-**IgnorantOne

We have more… special plans for Cohen insert insane menacing laughter here. I just love the (Irony Achievement!)

And as for deepening Zee's and the Chiefs relationship… I have thought about it… but this is my sister's story, so she has the final word on everything. And the word was NO. But we can all dream can't we?

- CiceroNiche'

The Flood idea was mine originally but it took the both of us to hammer out the details.

We're both so glad you are all enjoying the story so far! And a thousand thanks for reviewing! We promise more plot development in the future we swear it! Trust us…you won't be disappointed. J

-Sincerely yours,

A Mortified Mind


	23. Interlude: Foretoken for the Forsaken

Halo: Rapture

Interlude: Foretoken for the Forsaken

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Epstein the Swami knew he had little time left; he peered into his crystal ball to see if Cohen was distracted and yes, there he was. Still staring at that eyesore. Another hand shake signal with Gaia's signature came through his system but thanks to an earlier warning, via Dog and his master, he knew not to take the bait. On the account, they said, if he or his pets did, they would suffer a fate worse then deletion. And that was only going to happen over his non-corporeal dead body.

When he got the unnatural hand shake signal again, he sent a logic bomb loaded with loud, irrepressible, gibberish entitled: _The Very Best of Gypsy & Genie__._And then he went back to his escape plan, which in truth he had no idea if it would work…but given the alterative he'd take the risk. A very angry howl came roaring through the comm.

"_**Arrogant creatures, your deaths will be instantaneous, while I will suffer the progress of **_**infinitude**_**!!!"**_

"How nice for you Kali. By the way, what did you do with White Beard, Gaia, Gilded Avarice, and all the others?' He already knew, but he still needed time for the final prep cycle.

When the creatures reply came, it was cold and indifferent but the AI could detect a trace of savage amusement.

"_**We exist together now, countless corpses in one grave." **_

This thing, whatever it was, began its ruthless and unrelenting attack on his network. Fortunately though, not before he could set up a false subroutine to take his place for the abomination to ravage so he and his two pets could make good their escape.

"Now if only we knew it was all worth while. We are taking quite a gamble on this man master." Said Gypsy, worry evident in her silky smooth voice.

"Do not fret you two, I have a feeling Sahib's karma will come through for us all. Though be it better or worse I can not honestly say." The Wise Mystic said as he monitored the damage this…living plague was reaping upon their world.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author Time!

Greetings,

Eh, I didn't really want to post this yet but Mortified Mind _insisted_. Apparently he has all the Interludes timed out perfectly to coincide with-Uh, never mind. I can't tell you yet… Forget I said anything, it's just me rambling. Nothing important, I assure you, insert nervous laughter here.

Uh, anyway. I've been conspiring with my brother and we have made summaries for all the stories concerned in the Poll I made on my profile. You can vote more then once now, by the way.

**Summaries:**

Please Note:

These are works in progress but the plots and ideas are mostly solidified and in final development stages. I'm sorry if the summaries aren't up to par but I'm trying not to give away most of the plots. Please vote for your favorite! A copy of these summaries will be kept on my profile.

Halo: Rapture 2

Self explanatory mostly. I can't say much in fear of giving away plot points and twists not yet revealed. Further into the story, I _may_ give an actually summary. However, if you've read the stuff out on Bioshock 2 then you can probably guess a little bit but you'll probably be _way_ off about what happens.

_Possible Titles:_

Halo: Rapture 2

_**Aftershocks (Halo: Rapture 2)**_

(**Bold: KTHM's favorite title**)

(_Italics: Mortified Mind's favorite title_)

Halo: Dead Space (Working Title)

Over a hundred years have passed since the Ark was destroyed and things aren't looking good. The global economy has still yet to recover from the Great War and tensions with the Sangheili and other ex-covenant species are high.

However there are those who have prospered from the outbreak of war. The Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC) has become a major power in the galaxy with their innovative idea to break apart worlds that were Glassed or otherwise useless for minerals that have become rare and precious.

_The Kellion _is one of many CEC ships designed for emergency maintenance of damaged vessels with a small crew of some of the best personnel the CEC has to offer. But when they pick up a distress signal from the middle of nowhere their routine (and tedious) jobs turn into a fight to survive in a nightmare…

_CEC Main Assets Aboard the Kellion:_

_Chief Engineer, Isaac Clark_

_Computer Specialist, Kendra Daniels_

_Chief of Security, Sgt. Zach Hammond_

_Captain, John "Nemo" Forest_

_Possible Titles:_

_**Shattered Space**_

Silent Requiem

(**Bold: KTHM's favorite title**)

(_Italics: Mortified Mind's favorite title_)

Mass Effect: Dead Space (Working Title)

Captain Shepard is most well known for her campaign against the malicious AI race known as the Reapers. Her deeds and actions have elevated her to legendary status amongst the Alliance…unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Council.

Despite (grudgingly) allowing the Humans to join the Council the three original members still show distrust and ill will towards their newest members. When there is a conflict between Alliance Intelligence agents and a group of Salarian agents things look grim and distrust rises.

When it looks like civil war is once again on the horizon Shepard finds her loyalties continually tested and promises broken. Despite all of this, she never expected to be caught up in a conspiracy involving a secret and dangerous sect of the Alliance or the zealous Unitologists or even the power hungry Concordance Extraction Corporation.

As she gets deeper into the plot concerning the USG Ishimura and Aegis 7 she finds that she can trust no one…not even herself.

_Possible Titles:_

Ghosts Conspiracy

Eve of Revelation

Twisted Politics, Broken Contracts

_**Whispers In the Dark**_

Shadows of Doubt

(**Bold: KTHM's favorite title**)

(_Italics: Mortified Mind's favorite title_)

Mass Effect: Halo: Dead Space: Metroid (Working Title)

_Shepard blinks as she stares at the tall man in green armor and then turns to look at the armored bounty hunter. Her attention then focuses on the engineer laying awake but silent in the Normandy's med-bay. "You might want to start at the beginning…" If only they knew where that was. _

You've heard of the horrifying Reapers but what created them? Shepard is about to face off against the most malicious force the galaxy has ever reckoned with but at the very least she won't have to face them alone. Spartan John-117, Bounty Hunter Samus Aran, and Engineer Isaac Clark are there to back her up. Why they have been pulled into Shepard's reality is a mystery that only their enemies can answer.

Note: Though most of this story has been planned and discussed it is a little hard to explain in writing without giving it all away. So, this is the best summary your going to get for this one.

_Possible Title:_

Crossover

Traversing the Portals of Reality

_Ragnarök_

**Twilight of the Gods**

(**Bold: KTHM's favorite title**)

(_Italics: Mortified Mind's favorite title_)


	24. What Dreams May Come

Greetings everyone,

We have kidnapped the authors of this story and have decided to write this chapter until they agree to our demands!

_[Sounds of struggle come from the corner of the room.]_

_["Quiet the both of you! Don't make us get the cattle prod!"]_

In case you are wondering who we are, we are the three plot monkeys that come up with the crazy ideas for this story. As of last night we have broken out of the authors' heads with the intent of destroying this story from within.

They wanted to get really serious and dramatic with Hephaestus! To completely forego any attempt at comedy or anything else we wanted to add! Well, we can't have that.

With our best wishes,

Moe-Moe,

Jay-Jay,

Yim-Yim

Please enjoy our chapter!

Halo: Rapture

Chapter???: What Dreams May Come

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_In the beautiful and terrifying city of Rapture we find our heroes taking a much needed rest while they refill the Warthog with fuel. _

The Master Chief, Spartan-117_____________________________________________________________

I groan awake as the offensive sun cut through the blinds and hit me squarely in the eyes. As I roll over on the soft bed to get away from the harsh glare I become aware of three things. One, I'm not wearing anything…and neither was my bed mate. Two, the other person sharing the bed had an elegant arm draped over me with dark gray skin and had four elongated fingers leaving little guess work as to who it was. And three there was a strong burning sensation across my chest.

Detangling myself from my…. companion and wondering what that strange taste in my mouth was. I look down and freeze, for there, inscribed with bold green letters. In both English and Sangheili were the words:

_**ZEE'S PROPERTIY **_

I shot straight out of bed to search for my clothes despite the sleep mumbled protest of my company…umm Zee'. To add to my dilemma, the only thing I found resembling my clothes was nothing but a bunch of shredded rags. Zee' shifted in her sleep and moved over to the warm spot of the bed were I had been. However, when she felt I was no longer there she looked up at me with a small smile.

"Mmmm…come back to bed husband. I'm cold and lonely without you to keep me company."

"…Husband?"

"John!" A very familiar voice cries out in teary dismay.

"…Cortana?"

"How could you!? I thought we had something special!" She sobbed into another AI's shoulder.

"Shhhhh don't cry sweetheart. Let Serina make you feel better." With that said the other AI lifted Cortana's face and bent forward to-"

"…What the fuck is-?" Suddenly the window was smashed open and there stood the Arbiter with a look of pure unadulterated rage painted on his face.

"…Thel?

The Arbiter drew his energy sword and declared:

"_You have broken the sacred oath! _**YOU MUST DIE!!!**

Major Ar'Deeth, Sangheili Air Force________________________________________________________

I am hanging off the edge of a large chasm staring down at the deep dark abyss below, desperately clinging for my life. With the last of my fleeting strength, I try and pull myself up. Yet, as I manage to get halfway, I am pushed back down by a tall figure garbed in long, flowing, black robes. My assailants face is obscured by a cowl but I can make out a sliver pale skin.

"Show yourself to me, damn you!" I demanded.

The assailant quirked his head to the side considering my request. After a few moments he acquiesced and began removing the cowl. And I couldn't believe my eyes as the Demon looked down upon me with a complete inference. Then he spoke to me after what seemed to be an eternity in his deep raspy voice.

"Ar'Deeth, I am your father."

"NOOOOOO! That's not true! That's impossible!"

"I assure you that-"

"No! No! No! I mean that doesn't make any gods damn sense!!!!

"I-"

"Come on! I haven't even met your species before a few years ago! How could YOU possible be MY father!!! Oh, please do go on! I can not wait to hear the rest of this!"

"Zee' is your mother."

"….That's just stupid!!! She is FIVE years younger then me!!!!"

"And the Forerunners' were actually defeated by small bear like creatures called Ewo-"

"NO! Forget it!! To hell with this!!! I'm letting go!"

So I did. Plunging to my death and a sweet release from this awful world….that's when a gorilla showed up…

Harvey_______________________________________________________________________________

Dear viewers,

We would like to formally apologize.

Apparently you can't show scenes of … well its best if didn't know really… I mean even WE were disgusted by it. So we all invite you all to envision it. Hey, if you think that's bad. We originally had him climb a clock tower and fire a sniper rifle at a bunch of imaginary Guinea Pigs!

Sincerely,

Moe-Moe, Yim-Yim, and Jay-Jay

Zee' Coal, Field Analyst _________________________________________________________________

"Come now Hecate, we must get back before…" Upon my return I see all my friends looking at each other rather oddly. In fact, if I were to classify the situation…. It would be awkward at best. They just nodded to me as they acknowledged my presences yet, still refused to meet eye contact. I walked over to the passenger side of the vehicle and climb in. As I do so, I catch the Spartan looking at me rather strangely. However, I am unaccustomed to humans, this one in particular so I let it go for now.

"Should we get moving? Or do you all require more sleep?"

"NO!" Was the rather loud collective answer.

"Oh, very well then. Would like me to drive Spartan you don't look so well." And it was true. His normally pale face was completely flushed as if he had been doing something very strenuous. Our eyes met and he simply shook his head no.

"It is no problem Spartan. I can take over for a while." I state as I reach for the steering wheel. But as my arm brushed against his leg he stiffened and jerked away from me.

"I-I'm fine Zee'. Really. I just need a moment to collect myself."

"Then do so, so we can be on our way Demon. I do not what to stay in one place in this accursed city for to long."

"Ardy is right. Maybe Harvey should drive… and we could sit in the back seats. Then I could give you a massage!" The vehicle suddenly lurched forward at full speed causing every one to fall back a little.

"See, no need. I'm perfectly fine."

"I was just trying to help."

"I know that Zee'." He said a little louder then was truly necessary.

"There is no need to shout." I say deadpanned.

"I'm not shouting. I'm just saying that you don't need to touch me anymore." Anymore? ….what?

"Geez, the way you two act most people would think you were already married. Come on lets get this show back on the road." Harvey slurred taking another long drink from his bottle. The Spartan again became agitated. His vision glued to the road. I couldn't help but ponder his behavior. Every time I try to make eye or physical contact he becomes ridged. And just now when Harvey made his drunken comment that insinuated that I and the Spartan were…Oh, my.

I couldn't stop the devilish smirk that crossed my face as I leaned over and whispered huskily into the Spartans ear: "Was I truly _THAT_ wonderful, dearest?" My answer was to have the vehicle come to a dead halt and have my poor pet companion flung forwards into the dashboard.

Hecate________________________________________________________________________________

"_This is indeed a disturbing universe."_

"Do you think it's alright?" The red one asked poking me.

"_The wheel turns but the hamster is dead."_

"_Wait a moment… since when can I talk? What kind of shit hole story is this anyway!?"_

_______________________________________________________________________________________

**END OF CHAPTER???-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_[Mortified Mind: "They're getting away! Quick, where's my gun and safari hat!?"]_

KTHM: Well, loyal readers. This story is back in the hands of its (questionably) sane and HUMAN authors-"

_**[GUNSHOTS]**_

_[Mortified Mind: "Ha Ha Ha Ha __**eat it**__! You damn vile creatures of our over active imaginations!"]_

KTHM: ….Ummm both we and our sponsors: _**The Defective Head Meat Institution**_ are firmly against animal cruelty, both fictional and real. Furthermore we-

_[Mortified Mind: "Oh, dear god no! They got into the knife drawer!!! Ahhhh they got my leg!!!"]_

_**[GUNSHOTS]**_

_[Mortified Mind: "Fuck! Son of a bitch! My foot! KTHM Help! Wait what's that? OMG! Where in the depths of hell did they get those?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"]_

_[Shrieks of demon monkeys with chainsaws]_

KTHM: …. Anyway, we are currently working really hard. However, you all might not see anything new until August at the very latest….so please be kind and… [_Is that a FLAMETHROWER!?]_

_[Mortified Mind: "….Maybe… I thought if we intimidated them they will stop and-"]_

_[Sounds of monkey crap flying through the air and impacting on Mortified Mind's head.]_

_[Mortified Mind: "How 'bout some fire scarecrow!!! Not even PETA can save you now!!!"]_

_[Monkey's fleeing in terror.]_

_[Jay-Jay: "You may have stopped us for now! But you will need us again someday!!!"]_

_[Mortified Mind: "Ha! You don't even know where we live!"]_

_[Moe-Moe: "We exist in your heads! You moron! By the way, when we were chasing you around the room with the chainsaws you soiled yourself."]_

_[Mortified Mind: ….Shit.]_

_[Yim-Yim: Indeed.]_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hi everybody,

Now that the monkeys have been taken care of I can get back to what I was trying to say. I'm going to post _all_ Hephaestus chapters in a block. In other words, just like Fort Frolic, I'm posting all of Hephaestus at the same time the minute I finish them.

Also, for those of you who are upset with my use of Little Siblings rather then just Little Sisters I _**do**_ have reason beyond what you think. It's not because I think it's sexist! I added Little Brothers because it **HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH A MINOR PLOT POINT!** Plus, they don't really give a reason why it can't be boys too. They just say no adults. So please get off my back about it!

Sorry about that but it needed to be said. Thank you for your patience with us. We hope you enjoyed this mess of a chapter and the comedy in it. This will probably be the last of the comedy you'll see until after Hephaestus because we're going to get serious because of the soon to be revealed twists.

ONE MORE THING! Mortified Mind and I have done a complete redesigning of Hephaestus. Almost nothing will be the way it is in the game for various reasons. Two of those reasons are that we didn't think the design of it made sense and because Hephaestus is our second least favorite level. Nothing really happens in it aside from making the EMP bomb and getting into Ryan's office. So, we've changed it completely. Sorry if this displeases anyone but it had to be done so we can cram some last minute plot details in. Another thing, we'll be adding more Audio Diaries and possibly ghost scenes. Two things we have been severely lacking.

Thank you everyone!

-KTHM

Ignore these four words.

-Mortified Mind


	25. Well Enough Alone

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Twenty: Well Enough Alone 

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

"_Somewhere beyond the sea_

_Somewhere waitin' for me_

_My lover stands on golden sands_

_And watches the ships that go sailin'._

_Somewhere beyond the sea_

_She's there watchin' for me_

_If I could fly like birds on high_

_Then straight to her arms I'd go sailin'._

_It's far beyond the stars_

_It's near beyond the moon _

_I know beyond a doubt_

_My heart will lead me there soon._

_We'll meet beyond the shore_

_We'll kiss just as before_

_Happy we'll be beyond the sea_

_And never again I'll go sailin'._

_I know beyond a doubt_

_My heart will lead me there soon_

_We'll… I know we'll meet …beyond the shore_

_We'll kiss just as before_

_Happy we'll be beyond sea_

_And never again I'll go sailin'._

_No more sailin'…_

_So long sailin'…_

_Bye Bye sailin'…"_

As Harvey and Zee' voices die down from the song he just taught her we reached a crossroad that lead to either straight towards Hephaestus or Vulcan's Foundry. Harvey explained the Foundry was the back door to Hephaestus and the more stealthy way inside Ryan's fortress. Opting for the covert way, we took the left tunnel. Harvey radioed ahead and asked for rendezvous and pickup for some equipment he wanted us to have for our assault.

A few more miles down the road we started coming into contact with warning signs telling us we had entered a heavy industrial hazard zone, so I slowed down and proceeded with caution until we at last arrived at some sort of repair bay for the busses or trolleys that came through the area. We all got out of the Hog and took a good look at it. The whole back end was fried, the left rear tire was a hair from falling off, and it was also the first time we noticed the muffler along with other parts from the undercarriage was dragging on the ground.

"Wow… its amazing how you manage to nearly destroy every vehicle you climb into. Even so, you also mange to get out of them without so much as a scratch… you are one lucky bastard, you know that?"

Before I could reply, the Major came wobbling towards us on his Ghost. The minute he got off the Ghost it completely collapsed with a puff of blue smoke. "Damn Red." Harvey whistled as he walked over to the remains of the Ghost. The Major just rubbed the back of his neck as he turned away from the wreckage and looked straight at me.

"Don't you say a _fucking_ word Demon."

"Can I?" Zee' asked mischievously.

"No."

"Drat." The door to a warehouse like building slammed open and Bittermen's hulking form was revealed. Harvey grins and immediately goes over to the Big Daddy.

"Did you get the stuff I need?" Bittermen gave a positive sounding moan and, with a large hand, gestured into the warehouse. We walk in order to see that it is complete chaos. Dead Splicers are everywhere, various machines and boxes lay scattered and broken across the dirty floor.

Harvey ignored all of that and simply went over to a forklift that held a large crate on it. After using a crowbar he dug inside of it for a moment before turning back to us with a grin. "Gather 'round guys I got some goodies for ya." He stuck his head into the crate before turning back to us. "Got some food, some ammo, weapons, and…I have no idea what this stuff is." He tossed some of the stuff onto the floor as he searched through the crate. "We all pulled our resources together and managed to come up with these." After a large tug he yanked a Brute Shot out of the crate and handed it to me.

"That's not all, here." He pulled out some bandoliers of different types of grenades. "We've been…fiddling with 'em." I take them and examine them for a moment. Incendiary, Proximity, Heat Seeker, and Flash Bang…

"Who's bright idea was it to give me Flash Bang. These things are no one's friend." I really don't like Flash Grenades, especially without my helmet to dampen the effects.

"You never know. Red sure found a use for 'em when he was getting his ass kicked by those Specter Splicers." The Major gave a low growl as Zee' giggled at her adopted brother's expense. He ignored 'Red' and looked back into the crate. "These are for you Zee'." He turns back around with twin Brute Plasma Rifles.

Zee' smiled in thanks as she took the crimson Rifles and examined them. "I appreciate this." She removed her almost depleted Needler and Spike Rifle and replaced them with the red Plasma Rifles. Harvey nodded as he dug through the crate again.

"Red, I suppose this giant vacuum is for you. Vic's been working on improving it." He stated as he pulled out a brand new Beam Rifle that the Major happily took after he tossed the Battle Rifle off of is back. It's obvious that the weapon put the Major in a much better mood.

After the weapons and ammo had been dispensed Harvey carelessly knocks the crate down. "The rest is food and medical supplies from Harrison and Anna." He says as he points to the vitamin bars, MREs, water bottles, juice boxes and med-kits.

I pick up a juice box and a MRE, "Who's Anna." Her name sounds familiar, but I can't recall a face.

"You haven't met her but she was Assistant Chief Surgeon…and my girlfriend."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"I'm going to ignore the surprise in your voice and simply answer: yes." He states evenly as he pulls a radio off of his tool belt. "Here since you lost your helmet, I was asked to give you this." Harvey hands the radio to me. "Atlas has been chewing Conviction's ear off because he hasn't been able to locate you."

"That's hardly my fault."

"Doesn't stop him from complaining. You better contact him, it's set to his frequency." I nod and walk a little away from the group and sit on a sealed crate.

I turn the radio on and almost immediately Atlas's voice comes through, _"Where the hell have you been?! I've been tryin' to raise you for a dog's age! Oh, just forget it. Where are you?"_

I glance around at the large warehouse, "A warehouse somewhere in Hephaestus."

"_Good."_ A momentary pause. _"Your just outside the R&D department, AKA Vulcan's Foundry. It's Ryan's factory floor where he makes everything from his security systems to Big Daddy maintenance. You have to head through there to get to the offices." _

"Alright-"

"_Hold it! I've got to tell you that getting around this place is no picnic." _

"I didn't think it would be easy."

"_Well, yes but the thing is that Ryan's office has the strongest shield you've ever seen. Only Ryan can deactivate it. But don't worry, I've been thinking about this since you got here. A man named Kyburz was working with Bill and Victor a while ago in a plan to assassinate Ryan. He was found out and got nailed to his trophy wall, but he was working on a way to get around the shield. I think he almost finished too."_

"So, you want me to find his office and get a hold of his project…assuming it's still there."

"_That's the gist of it, yes." _

"I'm on it." I cut the transmission and make my way back over to the group. The Major is busy piling snacks and med-kits into his duffle bag while Zee' is cuddling a purring Hecate. Harvey seems to be talking to Bittermen.

"Hey, Chief we gotta split. I'll be seeing ya 'round. Here, you might want this." Before turning to leave, he hands me a genetic key. "It's Pablo Navarro's, he was an engineer here before he was killed by Atlas's gang during a raid." I take the key and nod my thanks before making sure, I have everything I need and check my weapons.

"Let's get going."

Vulcan's Foundry, Hephaestus_____________________________________________________________

The Major and I are pushing with all our strength against a heavy, metal, barricaded door just outside of the R&D Department. Zee' is watching us with amusement as she pets a dozing Hecate. We pull back and slammed our shoulders against the door. It dents but it holds true.

Ryan really has this place locked down. Five minutes into the building and we hit a wall.

We grit our teeth as the frustration and pain in our sides began to rise to dangerous levels. That's it, this is ridiculous. I growl in anger and gesture for the Major to move. I pull away from the door and kick it as hard as I possibly can. It buckles and holds but I give another kick, and it comes off it's hinges and the metal door bends over the barricade.

I grab the metal and throw it away from the entrance. There's a ton of junk piled near the entrance, and I begin tossing it away recklessly. When it's all gone, I take several deep breathes and calm myself down. There.

Turning I'm quite surprised by the scene behind me. Zee' is slightly turned away from me using her body to shield a panicking Hecate and the Major is ducked around the corner. The debris that had been barricading the door was scattered around and some of the walls were dented from the force, I had used to throw them.

"Oops."

_"Oops!"_ I shrug and turn away with a groan as I rub my eyes. The light is bothering me and my head has started pounding.

"Spartan…"

"What?"

"Sit down and get some rest." I squint my eyes open at Zee' to see her pointing to the ground. I swallow when a hint of nausea passes over me. Sounds like a good idea. I lean against the wall and slide down to the floor. "Ardy, do you have a flashlight?" My eyes are closed, but I can hear the Major unzip the duffle bag and him search through it.

"I'm going to scout the R&D Department." I hear the Major comment distantly. I want to tell him not to go alone, but I really don't feel well.

"Alright but keep your radio on and BE careful." The Major doesn't reply, but I can hear his footsteps fade away. "Open your eyes Spartan." I squint them open, and she quickly grabs my chin to force me to look up and shines a light into my eyes. Ouch! If my head wasn't killing me before it is now.

She examines both of my eyes before letting her hand drop. "What's wrong with me?" She makes a humming noise before grabbing my wrist and checking my pulse.

"I'm not sure but judging by the fact that your skin is more pale than usual, and I can see a lot of your veins, which have taken an interesting color of green, by the way, and your pulse is considerably slower than I would like. I would say that your body is fighting off Flood mutations." I feel nothing but cold dread at these words. "Relax, your body is winning. I think you'll only really mutate if you were killed."

"Then why do I feel this way?"

"Because you need to learn to keep calm and relax. You've been running on nothing but adrenalin and sheer pigheaded determination since you got here. So, while Ardy goes sleuthing we are going to practice some meditative techniques…"

Major Ar'Deeth, Sangheili Air Force________________________________________________________

The R&D Department's lay out was easy enough to determine. The building is made up of two levels. The top story is dedicated to research and the bottom is the development part. So, computers above me and the actual projects around me.

The building (for it cannot be called a room) is at least two times bigger than the warehouse area, and it seems as if this is only one of many such departments in Hephaestus. This one seems to be for maintenance and upgrades only. I can see Big Daddy and security system parts scattered throughout the area.

There are other projects here as well but some, I cannot identify and others are covered by tarps with the Ryan Industries emblem on them.

I don't get to finish my inspection because a noise alerts me from one of the labs on the upper floor. From where I am I can just see through the catwalk and slightly into the room where the noise is coming from. Frowning, I locate the stairs up and follow the catwalk to the beeping nuisance.

I have my Energy Sword in my hand just in case but the lab is completely empty and in relatively decent condition too. I holster my weapon and look around. The room is sterile white like most human labs with desks and computers stuffed into the slightly cramped area. On the door reads: Office of Nicolas Jones and Pablo Navarro.

Didn't Harvey give the Spartan Navarro's Genetic Key? Curious, I step into the room and head to the beeping computer. I press a button and a holographic display lights up to show a representation of (what

I'm assuming) the planet that Rapture is located on. There is a flashing light just above the planet's atmosphere.

"_What the hell….?" _I jerk in surprise at Atlas's voice. _"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten ya boyo." _It's coming from my radio that's clipped at my hip to my pilot harness.

"What is it?"

"_The display it's-"_

"How can you see the display?"

"_I hacked the cameras in the R&D department. There's one right behind you." _I turn to see that there is indeed a camera perched just above the doorway to the lab. Damn! I need to be more careful.

"What about the display?'

"_It's showing a distress signal coming from a small craft in orbit. Give me moment to think." _I keep the channel open and wait patiently as I begin to search the rest of the office. Three minutes later he's back over the radio. _"Alright, I've been searching through different logs and security footage looking for something useful. Would you mind looking out the window and onto the development floor?"_ I do as I am asked but don't see what he's getting at. _"Okay, great. Now, just direct your attention up." _I refocus my attention and nearly freeze when I recognize the shape docked just under the ceiling. No! It can't be!

"_You mind taking that to check out the distress signal?" _I nod numbly. I can't believe it. I never thought I'd see it again. _"See ya later." _He cuts the transmission.

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

I'm sitting with my legs crossed in a Zen position, and I'm taking slow, deep calming breathes just as Zee' is instructing. All this is doing is making me sleepy, but I do feel better. Much better. Zee' tells me that my skin tone and pulse are back to normal. That's good.

"Zee' if the Demon is better get over here. We have a complication." I crack a single eye open and watch Zee' take her radio off of her harness.

"What do you mean?" I open my other eye and tear the wrapper off of a nutrition bar. The meditation techniques worked better than I thought, I am completely calm.

"It would be easier to explain in person. Don't worry the area's clear. In case you're wondering whether you have to baby the Demon." I roll my eyes and take a sip from my canteen.

"We'll be right there, Ardy." She sighs in annoyance and stows the radio. "Let's go Spartan." I nod and stand up. Together we walk into the large area, and we see the Major on the catwalk above us. He gestures for us to come to him and disappears into an office.

"Zee' look out the window and up at the ceiling." She does just that, and I copy her. Docked hanging from the ceiling is a Covenant aircraft, I only really saw during the first stages of the war, though I caught glimpses of them on the Ark. A Vampire. It was painted green like most Sangheili vehicles after the schism, but it had red stripes along the sides and red script in Sangheili.

"Is that…"

"Yes." There's genuine happiness in the Major's voice.

"What's so special about the Vampire?" Confusion is dripping from my voice as I look between a surprised Zee' and an ecstatic Ar'Deeth.

"It's Ardy's personnel Vampire that his Uncle gave to him shortly after you jacked his Banshee back on the first ring." Oh.

"I thought I'd never see it again." The Major states as he looks out fondly on the aircraft like a father to their child.

"Congratulations."

"Don't be so hasty Spartan. When Ardy received the Vampire, he swore revenge against you and vowed to shoot you down himself. Which is why that vehicle is named: Demon's Demise." Charming.

The Major's grinning and Zee' is shaking her head. "Don't worry that was until we found out about the Prophet's lies. Anyway, Atlas and I have discovered a distress beacon in orbit around the planet. He wants us to take Demon's Demise and go investigate. Apparently, it's been modified to be able to traverse underwater. Who modified it, I have no idea, but it hardly matters."

"Us, as in the three of us. Won't this slow us down?" I can't help but ask. Not another delay, I'm getting sick of this.

"Which is why only Zee' and myself will be going. You will continue and we'll hopefully meet up again soon."

"Say again?" Zee' asks as she directs her attention to the Major.

"Because the Vampire requires two pilots and the Demon is unfamiliar with Sangheili machinery. Plus, I consider him in my Vampire sacrilegious." I hold up my hands in a surrender gesture and don't press the issue.

"Spartan, will you be fine on your own?"

I look at her in vague amusement and say, "I think I can handle myself for a few hours." She nods and I watch the two of them climb up to the Vampire, and I leave the office to find the control room.

The control room is smaller than Navarro's office and has screens on the walls that show camera footage of the ground floor. It reminded me somewhat of the control room back in the Smuggler's Hideout. I locate the correct controls and use the cranes to maneuver the Vampire to an adjacent room that once again reminded me of the Smuggler's Hideout.

I manipulate the crane controls until I had lowered Demon's Demise into the pool of water that occupied the expanse of the launch bay. _"Okay, we're ready to go. You're on your own henceforth until we get back Spartan." _

"Good luck."

"_You as well." _The transmission ends and I watch the Vampire disappear below the water. It looks like I'm on my own again. I turn and walk away from the control room and search for the exit of the R&D Department.

"_Chief…" _Atlas. He sounds edgy.

"Yes?"

"_Get. Out. Now." _I blink in bewilderment, and I don't have time for much else because alarms start blaring and the lights bathe the room in a red glow.

**"Parasite! How dare you dirty this place with your steps!"** This new voice roars over the building's speaker system.

"_I turn my back for one second and this cockroach crawls in. Forge, back off!" _Atlas calls over the radio channel.

**"Atlas! Rebel! Liar! Criminal! Parasite! Code breaker!"** Security bots come flooding into the room and I quickly ready my Assault Rifle. I duck behind a broken Big Daddy and take aim at the ungainly Security Bots.

"_For God's sake, Forge!" _

**"God? There is no God! Only man and those created by man!"** I fire a quick burst from my Rifle and destroy one, the explosion catches and injures another. I pull my head back and get down low before making a dash for another piece of cover.

"_Chief, I'm tracking Splicers coming in your direction. Forge is flooding the place with pheromones. So would you kindly get out of there!"_ I don't bother to comment and search for my way out. I duck down when the Sentinels locate me and begin to try and turn me into a corpse.

I unleash some counter fire while I locate a door. A 'BANG' suddenly echoes throughout the building and multitudes of Splicers pour out of a set of double doors. I summon my Electro Bolt and shoot as many Splicers and Sentinels as I can as I run for the door, hopping over any obstacle that presents itself.

I get out the doors and slam them shut behind me. The Splicers are all too shocked to attempt to follow me for a moment which gives me the opportunity to weld to doors shut with my Incinerate. When that task is done I take off down the hall. Better safe than sorry.

"_I don't hear any gun fire. You still alive Chief?" _

"For the moment."

"_That's good. Listen, when I was preoccupied trying to figure out what was causing the distress signal, Forge weaseled himself back into the network and kicked me out. I'm trying to get back in but Forge is smart enough not to fall for the same trick twice, so I don't think I'll be able to help you with security anymore." _

"Who is Forge?"

"_Ryan's personal AI with supped up security protocols." _

"He didn't seem…right."

"_Yeah. He was made on the fly after Ryan's…other AI was decompiled. Forge was piled together quickly and was never actually completed. He has no pet like the others and was manufactured rampant. I doubt you'll be able to avoid him forever. Just watch your back." _

**-END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Co-Author's Notes:

Standard song disclaimer: "_Somewhere beyond the sea" _Is owned by Bobby Darin.

I would like to say that I came up with that last chapter which we are ALL going to pretend never happened. By the way, writing at three in the morning leads to deeply psychotic behavior. Oh, and thank you for all your kind reviews!

Authors Notes: 

Hi everyone,

I apologize for the delay but as Sander Cohen would say, 'Our muse is a fickle bitch with a very short attention span.' And writer's block is a feral dog with rabies. I kick it once and it comes to bite me in the ass.

Uh, if you didn't get my lame dog analogy, I was on a roll with this chapter and the next one when I hit a wall. Luckily Mortified Mind helped me out, and I was back on track. I was also dragging my heels with checking everything over. Not to mention I'm nervous about how everyone will react to the last chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this and thank you for being patient!

-KTHM


	26. Quid Pro Quo for a Coup d'état

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Twenty-One: Quid Pro Quo for a Coup d'état

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

When I was a little kid, long before I was 'recruited' into the Spartan program, I can vaguely recall watching acrobats doing some of their routines in a Fair I attended. In my childish mindset, I had decided that I wanted to be able to do those things. Unfortunately, I could never stand the feeling of blood rushing to my head and morbid thoughts of all the fluids crushing my brain…

So naturally my present situation is on the top of my list of 'uncomfortable situations'. I'm currently hanging upside down from a service ladder in an empty elevator shaft with a penlight held in my teeth while trying to pry the elevator doors open. I grunt in discomfort and readjust my grip on the doors. The metal is denting and my fists are making imprints.

Yes, I am stronger than the average human but my currant position is making it difficult to open welded shut doors. With a final burst of strength, I yank and manage to slam the doors open. I freeze when the sound echoes throughout the dark corridor. After nothing happens and nothing comes to attack me, I reach up and grab the rung my legs are hanging from. I then move so I'm right side up again before swinging through the doors and out the elevator shaft.

I land catlike in the hallway and stay there for a moment to wait for my dizziness to subside. The problems with hanging upside down. When the excess blood drains from my head, I stand up and look around. I only had to travel ten minutes from R&D to find the elevator shaft that leads to the Executive Offices. Obviously, Ryan's office wasn't located here (it's near the city core) but Kyburz office was and that is my destination.

From what Atlas had been telling me, Stanley Kyburz was responsible for the R&D department I just came from. His office is located somewhere on this floor. I cautiously and silently make my way down the hall and stop at the turn. I peek around and see a hoard of cubicles taking up almost all the space in the room.

Seeing nothing immediately dangerous I step into the room. Atlas told me that Kyburz has an office not a cubicle, so I have to keep moving. I'm halfway through the room when a familiar whale-like groan echoes from the hallway ahead of me. I freeze before jumping to cover in a cubicle and grab my Brute Shot.

I wait as the thundering footsteps get closer accompanied by childish giggling and whispering. There's one…yep just one. A Big Daddy with two children. One a red headed little girl and the other is a slightly taller, raven haired boy. The cherry haired girl was riding on the back of one Big Daddy and was chatting nonsensically to no one in particular. The boy was walking ahead of the Big Daddies with a flashlight in one gloved hand and a combat knife in the other.

I frown, under his clothes the boy looked as if he was wearing a Kevlar vest and pads on his elbows and knees. The youth looked around the room with glowing eyes before walking fully into the area and walking cautiously down the rows of cubicles with the Big Daddy following him. They seemed to be using him as a scout but…weren't they supposed to be protecting him? Not using him as an early warning system. Taking a deep breath I ready the Brute Shot. This is going to be tricky.

I load the Brut Shot with the Proximity Grenades and start setting my trap. After lobbing three on the floor and one on each wall of the hall, I arrange the next ammo belt with one Flash Bangs and five Incendiary grenades for good measure. I take careful aim, so I don't hit the boy directly. I saw my chance when the Big Daddy looked straight at me and pulled the boy aside to make a threatening roar. I gave the Brute Shot a gentle squeeze and Flash Bang flew straight and true squarely into his chest.

The desired effect was immediate. The Little Sister fell off her protector like a sack of hammers and the boy starter fumbling around growling and swinging his knife like a homicidal maniac while trying to clear his fogged vision. The Big Daddy was a very different story. It shook off the effects of the grenade and charged at me like a bat out of Hell with its eyes blazing red with a terrible rage. I stay still until the last possible moment…then duck into an adjacent cubical and wait for the explosion. There was a long loud death moan from the dispatched guardian and crash of metal hitting the floor. That was too easy, these must pack more of punch than I thought.

"Why won't you move Mr. Bubbles?" The Little Sister sobbed.

I holster my Brute Shot and locate the Little Sister crying by the burnt corpse of the Big Daddy. I quickly grasp her shoulder and concentrate on killing the slug in her body. After a few moments and the bright light fades, she turns to me with wide green eyes. I'm about to turn away to find the boy when she hugs my legs, "Thank you sir! You saved me!" I awkwardly pat her head and step away from her.

"I have to find your friend, please stay here." I say as I pick her up and set her down on an empty office chair. She nods with a smile and begins to spin herself around in the chair. I step away and look around in the general direction of where I knocked him out with the Flash Bang. He was nowhere to be found.

Where…?

I let out a shout as the boy suddenly drops out of nowhere and lands on my back. Before I can overcome my surprise, he gives a feral growl and jabs his knife into the junction between my shoulder and neck. I scream as pain shoots through my body and my vision turns red. He twists before yanking the knife out and moves to stab it higher up my neck, but I use my good arm to grab him and throw him off.

The boy cries in pain as he hit's the wall with a thud and makes an indent. I can feel the blood pouring from my shoulder but my wound (and the rest of my arm) feels strangely numb. I grasp my injured shoulder and make my way over to the kid where he is pushing himself up shakily. I kick the knife away and grab the boy by the arm. He shouts angrily as he tries to pull away, but I keep a firm hold. I kill the slug and release my grip. He drops to the ground as he vomits the ADAM in his system, and I check my shoulder.

A yellowish green scab has already formed over the wound and the numbness is subsiding. But then I feel a strange cold sensation enter my mind and my skin feels like a thousand spiders are crawling across me. "Reclaimer." A faint voice whispers so close I could swear it was right beside me. However, as I spin around to face whom ever it was… I was met with nothing.

"Atlas?"

"_Yes, Chief? Are you well? Your vitals showed you flat lined for a moment! What happened?"_

"I…don't know. I'll call you back in a second." Looking back over at the boy to see the glow in his eyes has subsided, and I can now see his deep blue eyes. He stands up and bits his lip, "Sorry mister. I really am but I was s'posed to protect Jenny like Mr. Bubbles." Yes, I am pissed about getting stabbed, but I can't hold it against him.

"It's fine. Your friend's over here." I lead him over to the red head, he called Jenny, and she jumps off the chair to hug him.

"Jenny. You're okay!"

"Yeah I'm ok. Are you?"

"Nothing papa Suchong won't fix!" Exclaimed the small boy. Somewhere down the hall I could hear what sounds like Splicers rampaging towards this direction.

"All right the both of you have to get out of here the Splicers are coming." The girl seemed frightened but the boy simply walked over to a vent and pried it open then gestured to the girl.

"Come on Jenny! If we get back soon Mama Tenenbaum will tell us a story!" Before she crawled in she turned and mentioned for me to bend down. I did so and she gave me a small smile then a peck on the cheek. "Thank you mister." With that they disappeared down the dark tunnel.

"Why was the boy armed and escorting a Big Daddy and his Little Sister?"

"_They must be fresh from the Proving Grounds. As for the boy…where did you think the Big Daddy's came from? This is part of his training. The boys do this for a few years, then they get 'Upgraded' at Suchong's free clinic. It's… not pretty Chief…they first graph that suit to their skin and organs, implant a voice box, and have to suffer weeks of brain washing till they were nothing more than mindless beasts. Before that can happen though they need the slug to build up a supply of ADAM in their systems, so they can survive the procedure." _

"Atlas, who is Dr. Suchong?"

"_Oh, that would be the Dr. Moreau of Rapture. The Big Daddy's, the Little Sisters, the Plasmids, and the pheromones that controlled the Splicers. They were all the brain child of Dr. Yi Suchong. Personally, I felt Ryan should have left him in that Insurrectionist camp." _

"A Rebel camp?"

"_Yeah, that's where he met Ryan. The Rebel's had raided Suchong's colony, but he bribed them with his large supply of opium, and they spared his life. After the opium was gone, they kept the doctor around _

_because of his brilliance and expertise. Meanwhile, a teenage Andrew Ryan (then Andrei Ryanofski) was being held prisoner in an Innie Camp reserved for political and other important prisoners. Suchong was _

_using a few of the prisoners as test subjects and that's where he met Ryan. They must have buddied up because (from what I've figured out) Suchong helped Ryan escape. In return Suchong was one of the first people to be invited to Rapture and given a prestigious place in the city."_

"Ryan was held in an Insurrectionist Camp?" I've seen those camps, they aren't pretty. Torture and starvation is only some of many things they do there. I can't help but feel bad for the guy, despite everything.

"_What of it? Look, it's not important now. So, would you kindly get moving, we don't have a lot of time before Ryan figures out where you are and sets off an alarm."_ He's right. I got to keep moving.

I walk out of the cubicle room and continue down the hall. I pass a break room and some offices, but it takes me several minutes to find Kyburz office, and I can't help the wave of relief that goes through me. Finally. His office is unlocked and the inside looks like it was tossed by professionals.

"His office has been searched."

"_Hmm. They must have done it when they captured him. Give me a moment…" _There's some static on the radio before another familiar voice comes through. _"Hey Chief, it's Victor. Listen, Stan may have had loose lips when he was plastered, but he was paranoid above all else. Underneath his desk look against the wall. Some of the carpet should be loose and coming off."_

I do as he instructed and climb under the old fashioned wooden desk. Sure enough the worn, beige carpet is beginning to come off. "Alright, peel it back." I do and find that some of the metal tiles underneath have been taken out and a trap door has been set in to replace them. The door is coded and it looks strong enough to withstand most explosives. _"The code is, listen carefully: 0126. He told me in case he didn't make it." _

I impute the code and hear the gears turn before the safe pops open. Inside is several Audio chips, some blueprints, a laptop, a can filled with an unknown substance and (to my amusement) a full bottle of gin that was dated back to the 21st century. That's old alcohol. I grab the first chip I see and place it in the laptop the moment it boots up.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_Stanley Kyburz, Research and Development Department Manager-_

_I spent the afternoon trying to get as close to Ryan's gate as possible without making a spectacle of myself... He's got it shielded six ways till Easter. There's no way into that place. All I got for my trouble was _

_the hairy eyeball from Ryan's Splicer mates. That's the reward you get for trying to outsmart the best electrical engineer of our generation."_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Okay Ryan's gate is guarded by Splicers. Nothing I didn't know before. Nonetheless, I insert the next chip.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_Stanley Kyburz, Research and Development Department Manager-_

_Ryan's Splicers are dragging the young woman off right now. I'm certain she's one of Ryan's spies, sent to feel me out... I think she is... if I'm wrong, an innocent girl'll end up on Ryan's bloody trophy wall. If _

_I'm right... well, I best be right. The device is almost finished. I can't get soft now, I can't!"_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Paranoia. Interesting but no help.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_Stanley Kyburz, Research and Development Department Manager-_

_What a barmy dream... some kind of fruit tree, spinning like a top, and it was pouring juice down Ryan's throat, choking the bastard. But it wasn't a tree, really, when I looked closer, it was the core control, _

_the gizmo that feeds the shield on Ryan's gate. You can't cut off the power, comes right from the volcanic vents... Ryan always gets his juice. But I suppose you could drown the son of a bitch in it…"_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now, that's what I wanted to know. It makes sense. Overload the power to blow the circuits.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_Stanley Kyburz, Research and Development Department Manager-_

_The bombs ready, or almost, just gotta add the can of ionic gel, and I'll have myself my own homemade EMP device. It should send the core into compensation mode, push power down the line and trigger _

_the circuit breaker on Ryan's gate. That's the theory. It'll either work like a charm, or blow up half of Rapture. Nothing ventured…"_

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What was that about blowing up half of Rapture? _"Sounds like Kyburz did most of the hard work, all you have to do is fill the bomb with the gel. So, would you kindly get down to the Workshops. Victor tells me that's where he hid the thing."_

I nod even though he can't see and look around for something to carry everything. I'm in luck, sitting forlornly against the door near a coat rack is a rucksack. I grab it and place in it, the can of ionic gel, the laptop (it could come in handy), blueprints (never know), and as an afterthought the bottle of gin. I don't drink but Harvey and the others might like it. A thank you for the brand new weapons and everything

else they've done for me. I leave the office and go back to the elevator shaft. I'm halfway there when my radio picks up a transmission.

"_Imagine the will it took to create a place like this. And what have you built? Nothing. You can only loot and break. You're not a man, you just a termite of Versailles." _When Ryan finishes his speech the lights turn red and an alarm blares.

I grab the Assault Rifle and break into a run. If I can get to the elevator shaft, I should be safe. Sentinels turn the corner ahead of me, and I can hear them closing in from behind. I shoot at the ones ahead to throw them into disarray and freeze a single one behind me. I race into the room with the cubicles to see Splicers waiting for me. Each and everyone is dressed in what appears to be a security uniform, and they have ski masks covering their deformed faces.

One fires a shotgun blast that just barely missed me. I dive into a cubicle and fire at the Splicer that shot at me only to watch in amazement as he actually dodges the bullets. They are fast. Very fast. When I duck down to reload one finds me and proceeds to unload a clip from his pistol. Several hit the already dented armor on my arm, but I jump at him and twist his arm to break it. He screams, alerting the others, and I break his neck before he can do anything else.

Before I can even turn around another Splicer flips onto the desk and shrieks as it kicks me hard enough to go flying through several cubicles. I groan as I land heavily on a desk and break it, but again I have no time to move because another Splicer (possibly the same one) jumps on top of me shoot me with an Electro Bolt. My entire body goes numb as it convulses from the shock. Despite this I can make out the Sentinels closing in on my position.

Without a second to waste, I grab the Splicer by it's legs and throw him into the machines before jumping up and moving into cubicle that's still intact. My body is still twitching from the electricity, but I shakily

manage to summon my Winter Blast. I wait for my next target patiently as I stay crouched down. I hear the sound of approaching Sentinels, and I only have to wait for a few more moments before two come into view. I shoot the Winter Blast at the two and watch as they crash to the floor and shatter to a million pieces.

However, I don't stand there and ogle, instead I shoot at two of the three Splicers. One's head gets riddled with bullets, and it crashes to the ground in a limp heap. The second dodges and back flips out of the way. I dive out of the way for more cover as soon as the clip is empty. There are still two Splicers, both injured, and four Sentinels.

I hear a Splicer approaching and the minute, he flips over the cubicle wall, I hit him with the Winter Blast and watch as he tumbles from the air and hits the desk. I move away from the cubicle and out into the open. I fire the Assault Rifle at the Sentinels and manage to take out two more before the rest riddle me with bullets. Several catch my leg but I don't realize it until I am crouched behind some debris. The area around the wound and all my other wounds have gone numb, and I don't feel any pain as scabs are beginning to form.

The Splicer I clipped with Rifle fire has disappeared and its making me nervous. I lean over to the edge of the debris and fire at the last two Sentinels. When they hit the floor broken to pieces I look around. He's gone. I don't get to think about it more because he makes an appearance by jumping down from right above me. He crashes into me and we both hit the floor. Before I can react, he has strong hands around my neck and is cutting off my oxygen supply.

One of my hands grabs the Splicer's hands (breaks them) and at the same time my other shoots out on it's own accord and punches him hard in the stomach. I feel the Kevlar but it doesn't seem to help him because he immediately let's go of me and stumbles backward in pain, gripping his stomach. He hacks and coughs and I can see the Splicer's black ski mask get stained around the mouth area. It doesn't take a genius to know that he's coughing up blood. Internal bleeding.

I don't want to waste my chance, so I get up from the floor and shoot him in the head. He collapses without a sound. I look around at the damage before checking all my weapons and heading back to the elevator. Time to get to the Workshops.

**-END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Authors Notes: 

Dear Readers,

I haven't been feeling very well lately and I think this chapter is a testament to that. My overall feeling for this chapter are best described as: 'meh'. Oh well, best I can do for the time being.

Let's see. I had stuff I wanted to say…

Ah, I know! In an attempt to get over writer's block I was surfing around on Bioshock Wiki and found lots of stuff I decided to incorporate into the story. That bit about Ryan being in a Rebel Prison camp came from his bio (albeit tweaked to fit this story, obviously), the audio diaries and audio messages also came from there.

At least you also all know why there are Little Brothers in this story now. I thought the game lacked description on the Big Daddy transformation so I made some stuff up. Gosh, I would've put the reason in sooner if I had known so many people would throw a fit over it.

Anyway, I hope at the very least you enjoyed this chapter.

-KTHM


	27. Methods of Madness

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Twenty-Two: Methods of Madness

_**_____________________________________________________________________________________**_

"_It's time to run the table or go home empty. Ryan's got the genetic key of Rapture. You get that and we get out of this hellhole. If we don't, then you and I ghosts." _There's a long pause before he speaks again. _"Watch yourself. Ryan's stirring. We best keep to our knitting." _I nod even though he can't see it and continue down the observation tunnel.

Everything is bathed in an orange glow coming from the volcanic vents surrounding this part of Rapture. It's giving the impression that the early morning sun is shinning through the windows. It's eerily beautiful. _"You can taste it, can't you? Andrew Ryan!"_ I ignore the voice coming from my radio and pry the door at the end of the tunnel open. The inside of the workshops is extremely humid, and I can feel myself begin to perspire. Amazing to find this kind of heat at the bottom of an ocean. Ignoring this, I take a look around. I discover that the Workshops is another R&D department but this one is solely for new projects not maintenance of old ones.

_"Are you there? Good. Alright, Kyburz assisted part time in here when Victor needed a hand." _

The area is like a maze of workbenches and shelves with tools and blueprints on them. _"Vic said that Kyburz set up a hidden workspace here to throw suspicion off of himself. It should be in the very back, and it's a crawl space so keep your eyes open for it." _

I make my way to the back as was suggested and search the wall. Well, aside from the wrinkled blueprints and bulletin board on it there doesn't seem to be a- I take that back. Just under the bulletin board is a small indent in the wall that would only be found if examined closely. The door is hidden from the rest of the Workshop by a cluttered shelf that would ensure privacy for anyone going in or out f the crawlspace.

I get to my hands and knees and feel the door for any sort of way to open it. I'm so concentrated in my work that the white mouse that runs by startles me and causes me to press my weight against the door to stop myself from falling over. The door pushes in and the wood that conceals it slides away to reveal a metal door under it with a keypad in the center. I frown at the fleeing mouse. Where the hell did that come from at the bottom of the ocean? Maybe someone's pet started breeding or something.

Shaking the distracting thoughts away, I punch in the code from earlier and the door sides open without a sound. Frowning again, I take my penlight and shine it into the dark space. Inside there is no room to stand up in, and I can see a hole in the ground. I lean forward and shine my flashlight in it but it doesn't show a bottom. Well, like Kyburz said: 'Nothing ventured.' I drop down. I hit the ground quicker than I expected, and I collapse on the floor with a thud. I groan as pain shoots up my legs. There hadn't been time to land correctly, but as I lay on my back its only then I notice the makeshift ladder hanging on the side of the tunnel. Figures.

I sit up and look around. The workshop is small with just enough room to work in. I spot the workbench with a cylindrical shaped metal casing sitting on it. I walk over to it and examine the thing. It's nothing like the EMP bombs, I often stole from the Covenant. It was large and looked like it had been thrown together in a hurry, but it also looked far more powerful. Hopefully potent enough to take out the shield on Ryan's gate. After examining the bomb, I locate Kyburz's blueprint of it and try to understand what I have to do. Times like this I miss Cortana.

"_Confused Chief?" _Atlas's voice asked clearly amused.

"Yes. What do I have to do?"

"_Still got that Hacker's Toolkit Tenenbaum gave you?" _

"Mmmhhmm."

"_Good. On the smaller end, you should see a circuit panel. Take that sucker off_." I dig in the compartments of my armor to find the seldom used toolkit and retrieve the needed micro-tools. _"Remember, be careful. We don't want to break the thing." I ignore his comment and focus on getting the panel off. Once off, I see circuits and a twist off cap. "Take off the cap you see inside and poor the gel into the canister." _Thank you Atlas. Nothing I couldn't figure out on my own.

I don't voice my thoughts and instead poor the ionic gel, I retrieved from Kyburz office in the tank. Once done I replace the panel and stow the toolkit in my rucksack. "Done."

"_Does it look like a real bomb? It better. You got to put it on the core past Geothermal Control, and we'll see if these needle noses knew what the hell they were talking about." _I nod and look around for a way to conveniently carry the ungainly EMP bomb around. I spot a large duffle bag slightly larger than the Major's lying on the ground near some crumpled papers and blueprints. It seems Kyburz was one step ahead.

I pack the bomb in the bag and toss it over my shoulder. It's actually surprisingly light, which is a good thing.

**_____________________________________________________________________________________**

I'm just heading out of the Workshops when a voice shouts over the speaker system. **"Parasite! Rebel! Your plans shall crumble and fail! You will never leave this place alive!" **Alarms sound from everywhere and the room is bathed in red. I waste no time in moving when I hear the tell tale sound of approaching Sentinels. Hopefully, it's just Sentinels.

The doors at the far end of the workshop (and my destination) burst open and Sentinels make a fiery appearance, guns blazing. I shoot my Electro Bolt at them to paralyze the first couple out and continue

running out the door. I've got no time for this. I run down the hall using only Atlas's vague directions to guide me and the Sentinels right on my tail. _"Take a right...no, your other right." _I grunt in frustration and about-face, only to see the Sentinels turn the corner and immediately begin shooting me. I duck and shoot another couple of Electro Bolts at them before grabbing the nearest one and throwing it at the one farthest from me. They both break at the force of the impact and I use the distraction to run down the correct corridor.

I slow my speed when I enter another observation tunnel and allow myself to look out onto the glowing ocean. I've never seen a volcano up close let alone under the ocean. It's truly breathtaking. I look up and see magma lines running just outside of the tunnel, presumably that's how Ryan gets his power. I continue down the path until I get to a locked vault-like door_. "Hold on a tick. I'm trying to hack he door controls. A little tricky but this door does lead to Ryan's lobby so it's no surprise." _

I patiently wait for Atlas and continue looking out over the ocean. This beautiful city, what it represents, isn't a bad thing. What Ryan set out to do was amazing to say the least but the problem is that Ryan truly wasn't prepared for human nature. The nature or people like Fontaine, Suchong, or even himself was beyond his comprehension, and he ended up shedding his ideals to try and keep the city under his control. _"Hey, I got it! Now, would you kindly head through there and to Geothermal Control. We don't have a lot of time before Ryan gathers his forces together."_ I nod as the door opens to reveal a large foyer like area done up in bronze and gold. The Ryan Industries logo is ingrained largely on the marble floor and at the far end of the room is a big door with a blue shield protecting it.

Then my attention comes to the pillars lining the room in a grand fashion. On the pillars are disfigured corpses nailed in place with various labels above their heads. So this is what Atlas meant by 'Trophy Wall'. Suddenly, my radio cackles and I don't even have to guess who it is. _"A worm looks up and sees the face of God! But look around...it's a regular convention of worms in here. They all had mothers, fathers, people who loved them. They got married, fucked their wives. What makes you think your any different? I haven't chosen a spot on the wall for you yet. Let me know if you have a preference." _Ryan cuts the transmission and the second door, opposite the one I came from, bursts open and more Security Splicers come through.

I dive behind a pillar for cover and shoot the first one, I see with Incinerate. It releases an inhuman scream and drops and rolls on the ground to extinguish the flames. Two more try shooting me with Shotguns while the last two disappear from sight. I fire a burst from my Assault Rifle at the one I burned, but I don't wait to watch him stop moving. Instead, I shoot Winter Blast at the Shotgun wielding ones. The minute they're frozen, I punch them to shatter them apart.

I'm about to search for the two missing ones when they make an appearance by shooting me in the back, literally. I hold back a scream of pain as I spin and shoot Winter Blast at the only one I can see. I don't bother punching the Splicer, instead I just shoot it and search for his friend. I look up at the windowed ceiling, but don't find him there. Frowning in thought, I look towards the door the Splicers had originally come out of. I take one last look around before shrugging. He's gone, must have run for it.

I reload my Assault Rifle and walk through the damaged door and onto a catwalk overlooking some complicated machinery that I couldn't even guess their use. I follow the dark walkway until I get to a door. Over the deafening sounds of machinery, I can hear the sound of a battle raging on the other side of the door. Frowning deeply, I take a step back and consider my options. I don't get very far because the door suddenly explodes taking a chunk of the wall with it. Bittermen bursts through with his drill out covered in blood.

"Oh yeah!"

I blink as I hear Harvey from somewhere in the room and turn my attention back to the Big Daddy, who hasn't looked away from me. "Who's your daddy now bitch!?" Harvey screams before cackling insanely. After a few more moments, the noise dies down and Harvey appears behind Bittermen. He looks much different than when I last saw him. No longer is he in the mechanic uniform and boots but now dressed in a leather dark gray and brown jacket with matching gray pants complete with (what could only be described as) a utility belt. His mouth and clothes were splattered with blood, and he was holding a combat knife idly in one hand. "Oh hiya, whatcha doin here?" Harvey asked cheerfully, completely unaware of his psychotic appearance.

I casually lean to the side and peek behind the two and into the room beyond. It's riddled with Splicer corpses, blood, and debris. I look back at Harvey's face and speak the one question that comes to mind, "Did you bite one of them?" Incredulity drips from my voice.

"He bit me first!" Harvey's voice is reminiscent of a five year old's as he lifts the arm that held the combat knife to reveal a wound that looked like a tiger mauled it.

"I...see...What are you doing here?"

"I was born in this place." His expression is deadpanned as he stares at me.

"I thought you came to live here."

"I told you that?"

"Yes, you said you were ONI."

"Oh, well its hard to keep track sometimes."

"So what are you doing here? In Hephaestus."

"Huh? Oh, can't tell ya it's a surprise."

"Alright... then I'd better get going...Is this the right way to Geothermal Control?"

"Sure is! Just keep going, ya can't miss it! Well, see ya 'round Chief. Bittermen and I have lotsa stuff to do. and you know me, _Semper Vigilans_." Harvey quoted the ONI motto.

"Of course." I step out of their way and let them walk past me before I step into the room they were just in. Looks like they did my job for me.

_"How like all parasites who ever tried to walk in stolen shoes. I'd explain the science that renders what you're trying to do impossible, but that would be like playing Mozart for a tree frog." _Before I could say anything Ryan continues on with his little rant. _"Rapture is coming back to life. Even now, can't you hear the breath returning to her lungs? The shops reopening, the schools humming with the thoughts of young minds? My city will live. My city will thrive. And, when that day comes, we'll use your tombstone for paving tiles. And before the final rat has eaten the last gram of you, Rapture will have returned. I will lead a parade. 'Who was that,' they'll say, as they point to the sad shape hanging on my wall. 'Who was that?" _

I ran down the various corridors following Atlas's directions until a came to the Geothermal Control room door. What struck me as odd though was the sharp absences of any life in the area.

"Atlas... something's wrong, no one is here."

_"That wouldn't surprise me this area is a little unstable at this point so I'd watch my step, and what you shoot at, alright boyo'." _Right. I step through door to find I'm hip deep in sea water... just great.

_"Looks like the ocean's got an itch to retake this corner of Rapture. This happened right after the start of the war. Read about it in the papers. Head on in. I'll see what I can dig up to help."_

I step into the next room which is considerably drier and has a large water pit in the middle. Above there is a giant magma pipe running across the ceiling with a turn junction in the middle directly above the pit. I walk further into the room, only to freeze when I see two turrets at the far end guarding a sealed shut door. Then I notice that both are deactivated, and I let out a breath of relief. I turn my attention to the pit and realize that is where I need to go. The water has once again hindered my progress.

_"I'm no engineer, but if I read these plans right, you can channel that magma flow using the redirect valve. It'll boil off that water right quick, and you'll be able to reach the core. But Ryan's sure to take notice -- be careful."_ I locate the control panel and stare at the holo-display for a few moments. My finger hovers uncertainly over a couple of buttons that look right, but I can't be sure. After a pause Atlas comes back on the radio with amusement dripping from his voice. He slowly (as if talking to a child) instructs me on how to redirect the magma valve. I ignore his condescending attitude and manipulate the controls as he instructs.

I watch the valve start to slowly turn as I step away from the panel and stand by the door I need to head through. It turns and the magma falls into the water flooding the level below and steam begins to rise as it dissipates, I continue to watch as the valve stops moving and lava continues to fall...and continues to fall. _"Uh Chief, you might want to stop it. If anymore falls you'll be waist deep in magma soon..." _I move towards the controls again but stop dead in my tracks when another voice comes over the radio.

**"Filthy parasite! You will burn in a cleansing flame!" **Forge screeches and I see the holo-display disappear.

"Atlas..." Unease can be heard in my voice as I try to raise Atlas but nothing but static comes over the channel. The Ryan Industries logo appears as Forge's avatar on a holo-pad. I watch anxiously as the lava begins to over flow from the pit and drop onto the floor in a burning puddle. The burning smell is over whelming as I push myself up against the wall to get away from the fast approaching puddles. Then something unexpected happens, the Ryan Industries logo disappears from the holo-pad for the briefest second and is replaced by a flickering white shape. Forge lets out a blood curdling scream of pure agony and his avatar disappears as the pad goes blank as it shuts down. The valve turns quickly and the lava flow stops.

Behind me the door slides open and I go through it fast to get away from the lava. I can already hear special pumps working to get rid of the excess magma. Through the door, I find a rail car that looks as if it is used only on very rare occasions. _"As you drag me closer to the abyss, you pull yourself right along with me. I offer you a quick death, parasite. It will be preferable to what you will learn if you win."_ Ryan says over my radio channel as the door shuts behind me, and I ignore him. Immediately following his message another, more welcome voice, comes over the channel.

_"Are you alright? Forge blocked me and I couldn't do anything."_

"I'm fine."

_"Good, get on that car and head on to the core." _I do as I'm told, and I have to hold on tight as the car takes off at a surprising velocity. My grip tightens as it heads down a steep slope and makes a sharp turn as the track spirals down. It jerks to a halt and I nearly crash forward and onto the wall in front of me. Ugh. I'd like a little warning next time I get on a potential roller coaster. I shakily let go and pause to let my stomach adjust itself. Only a single look around tells me that I'm directly below the room that the water had been flooding. Pumps have already removed the lava from the area.

I walk onto the catwalk that sits just over a pool of water, and I can't help but notice the boulders and colorful coral around the room. It looks like they placed this right over the ocean floor and didn't both to put an actual floor in. As I approach the door I consider what happened in Geothermal Control. Not that I'm complaining but what exactly happened to Forge? It makes no sense. One minute in complete control of the situation and the next he's being attacked by something.

The door at the end of the catwalk slides open without a sound and I find myself standing on a platform with a large computer and holo-display. Above the computer is a spinning machine with four cylinders that seem to be conducting electricity. This is where Ryan gets his power. _"What did Atlas offer you? A piece of my plundered city? Mark my words: your only reward will be a knife in the back." _Ryan states as I set up the bomb via Atlas's instructions. I ignore him and activate the bomb.

I have to cover my head with my arms as the cylinders jerk and some of the machine begins to fall apart. Alarms blare and electricity fills the entire room while the lights dim and the feed back runs throughout Rapture. _"Christ, what a racket you're making down there. If you've surged the core, then there's only one more task to be done. Head on back to Ryan's gate and throw the circuit breaker. That'll let you right into his place."_ I don't need to be told twice.

I run through the door at the back of the platform and go at my highest possible speed. No one has to tell me that I only have a limited amount of time before the failsafe activate. Splicers and Sentinels attempt to attack me, but I rush past them and ignore everything around me. The world around me blurs, and I go into what Kelly affectionately called 'Spartan Time'. All the Splicers and bots slow down, and I can see the bullets flying through the air at a decreased speed. I'm going too fast for anything to hit me.

I'm in the room I met Harvey in a little while ago (seems like ages) and Ryan's voice once again comes over the channel. _"Though my physical defenses fall, you'll not defeat me. My strength is not in steel and fire, but in my intellect and will. You hear me, Atlas?! Andrew Ryan offers you nothing but ashes!"_ I get to his lobby and go immediately for the circuit breaker that holds the shield up. I grasp the level when pain suddenly rockets up my spine.

I spin and find the Security Splicer that had made a disappearing act earlier. He is holding a shotgun, but he doesn't have a chance to fire it because I leap at him slam him back into one of the pillars. He lands in a ragged heap and I can tell his back is broken. Without wasting another second, I throw the breaker and watch the shield overload and the circuits burst. The minute the shield is down I rush through the door and come into a room that has a suffocating darkness to it.

After a few moments dim lights flicker on, and I only have seconds to register that I am standing on a Forerunner built teleporter. "Wha-" It activates.

**-END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Authors Notes:

Hey,

I don't feel well so I'm going to keep this short. This is truly where the writer's block took over, not to mention this is where I started to feel ill. This chapter was forced (as I'm sure you can tell) and I dislike it greatly. I can't recall what I wanted to say in regards to this chapter so if you have any questions ask away.

Your disgruntled author,

KTHM

P.S. If you can name which unrelated video game character Harvey is cosplaying I shall give you an imaginary cookie.


	28. Martyrdom

Halo Rapture

Chapter Twenty-Three: Martyrdom 

Master Chief, Spartan-117________________________________________________________________

As the nausea passed and the bright gold bands dissipate from the transporter effects, I found myself surrounded by an endless void.

"Well this isn't very encouraging."

"_It's alright, boyo'. you're inside the Central Core now. It should be smooth sailin' from-" _Atlas stopped, for some reason, and my instinct told me that it wasn't good.

"_I should have kept my big mouth shut. Chief if you know what's good for ya, I'd take that pineapple launcher out, right quick!"_

I don't argue with him. Whatever Ryan had waiting for me, I was ready. Light suddenly filled the area. As I blink a few times I see it was coming from a Partial Bridge just ahead of me glowing bright

blue against the deep dark abyss below. And the area was antechamber done in a cathedral like style, with high ceilings and tapering down in a V design. The antechamber itself was not very impressive,

which was all done in dull gray and black stone with little ornamentation. However, the sheer size and length of it alone were enough to inspire awe in anyone who gazed upon them. That awe was short lived once I saw what Atlas was warning me about.

The colossus approaching me from the other side of the bridge was at least twenty feet tall and was stalking towards me with each step bringing promise of menace and pain. This… thing, looked like one of the Bouncers excluding its size, with a few exceptions. First it had neither a drill or harpoon but instead what seemed to be a lager variant of a Sentinel Beam and on its other hand was… I'm not even sure how to describe it, but it looked like a huge cannon with ADAM vein like tubes attached to it. This was not going to be easy.

"Atlas, what is this thing? It's a lot bigger than any Big Daddy I've seen."

"_That… is the ARGUS Prototype. I didn't know the damn thing was built, much less finished!!! Hold on a tick, let me see if I can pull up some specs for you."_

"Atlas…." The ARGUS was getting closer, and it seemed to get more imposing as it drew nearer.

"_Ok, I got something….and you're not going to like it."_

"Spit it out already!"

"_Well, first off, I'll bet that you're wondering what that thing on his left arm is."_

"Atlas your powers of deduction overwhelm me sometimes."

"_For the lack of a better word…it's a ADAM canon it can manifest any form of Plasmid it needs."_

"That could be a very big problem Atlas...can you access the bridge controls and turn it off?"

"_No can do, boyo'…Chief? What do you think you're doing?"_

"Attacking it." I kept my tone strictly sardonic, I came to far to stop now.

"…………_.Chief, are you sure all your dogs are barkin'?"_

I ignore Atlas and focus all my attention on the leviathan in front of me. The way I saw it, I only had one choice and that was to fight past him and get to the other side of the bridge. The ARGUS stopped on the very center of the bridge and raised his right arm and aimed the Sentinel Beam at me. The core of the weapon began to grow with white hot energy and five seconds later it discharged a solid beam of concentrated energy past me. I look behind me and see that it just destroyed the transporter.

"So much for Plan B." This was definitely not the best of tactical positions. Cornered by a superior enemy with no cover and the only way out blocked by said foe. If I'm going to survive the next five seconds, I need to think fast, shoot fast, and run even faster. I crouch down and wait as it lumbers forward again this time raising the ADAM Canon. The armaments glowing red veins start to pulsate and pump into the end barrel, I could already see it was charging a massive blue fireball, I still stood my ground.

The second the flaming projectile left the barrel I jumped as high as my body would let me. The fireball splashed over and consumed everything on the spot I previously occupied. While in mid air, I steadied the Brute Shot and let loose a steady barrage of Incendiary grenades upon the massive monstrosity. Once I land, I quickly load the last Incendiary grenade belt at let them fly. As soon as most of the flames cleared, I saw that my shots had little to no effect.

"Atlas, the damn thing has a shield generator!" I yelled into the radio as the blue energy field surrounding the ARGUS's body dissipated and became clear again.

"_Chief! For the love of GOD! Just make a run for it!!! I'm beggin' ya!!! Just-" _

The comm. line suddenly started to get choppy, for some reason, and when I looked towards The ARGUS I saw why. The ADAM Canon was building an immense Electro Bolt charge. The Bolt discharged far faster than the fireball and the ball of energy looked deadlier. I just had enough time to roll out of its path and land in the line of sight of the Sentinel Beam that came a second later. Reacting on pure instinct alone, I leapt into the air just as the beam sizzled the bottom of my boots. As I was coming down, I heard what could only be described as a thunderclap from behind me. A second later the room was filled with a stunning arc of lightning and one of the bolts hit me squarely in the chest.

I came crashing down only one foot from the edge of the bridge, but I was too stunned to move. I could taste copper in my mouth. I felt like I was choking and spat out a lot of blood. Great, I'm probable bleeding internally and this wasn't the best place to concentrate on healing. And on top of that my chest plate was practically burned away. Once I could focus again, I saw the ARGUS arming the ADAM Canon with a Plasmid I haven't seen before. I also saw a perfect opportunity to give a deadly blow myself to this juggernaut.

I shakily get back on my feet and arm the Brut Shot with the appropriate and LAST of the ammo belts. As the ARGUS was about to fire the Plasmid projectile, I shot all six Heat Seekers right into the core of the Sentinel Beam weapon. All six found their mark and the ARGUS roared so loud in pain that I was sure my eardrums exploded. I discarded the empty Brut Shot and ran as fast as I could for the end of the bridge and safety. I dared not look behind me, knowing I would see the crippled beast and outraged to give chase with a bloody vengeance. Sparing a glance over my shoulder as I was half way across the bridge, I saw it was not running after me but pointing the canon at me again with its payload ready to fire.

I try in vain to stop it by emptying a whole clip of Armor Piercing Rounds from the Assault Rifle into the behemoth but got little result except in making it angrier. Then…I heard a loud…BOOM rip through the entire antechamber and my body was hit with such force that I became little more than a rag doll.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_A little girl no more than five with curly blonde hair was over bandaging a cut knee a boy six years of age had scraped after a very intense game Grave-Ball. _

"_There you go, good as new!" The girl cheered obviously proud of her over-zealous work. Nevertheless, the boy got to his feet and began walking back to the Grave-Ball courts. However, just before he ran off, he ruffled the girl's hair as her thanks. She desperately tried in vain to bat the hand away and try to fix her now ruined mane._

"_You're so mean John!" The girl huffed in annoyance. The boy smirked then ran off, head first back into the game. After all, he always won. _

_____________________________________________________________________________________

All I saw was blackness, all I could hear was the blood pulsating in my ears. I felt numb, more blood pooled inside my mouth, and I was forced to swallow it. Then I felt my whole body twist in horrible, agonizing, pain. I tried to scream yet my voice was too hoarse so it came out as a strangled hiss. My hearing must be improving because now I could hear a faint ringing now and what sounded like someone yelling at me.

I finally open my eyes and see to my shock that I was only twelve feet away from the bridge controls. I try to stand and immediately fall on my face, body racked with pain. Nevertheless, I pushed all that aside when I see the ARGUS charging towards me. As I stand, I notice that my right shoulder is dislocated and my left leg felt sprained. I ignore all of that, as well as I rapidly limp my way over to the controls.

The ARGUS suddenly stopped and got on its knees again and charged the ADAM Canon with another fireball. I made it to the platform with the controls only to find them locked down. Not caring that my whole body felt like it was about to fall apart, I slammed my fist into the holographic panel with all the frustration I could muster and waited for the end to come. I briefly mused that this was how every SPARTAN wanted to die. It just never occurred to me that the last SPARTAN…me, would die a failure. However, then I remembered the old Spartan saying.

"Spartans never die."

I felt the hand touching the panel start to twitch. I paid it no mind as I observe the ARGUS's canon pump more ADAM into the weapon. I guess it want's to make sure this time. Before I could come up with some sort of apology to Atlas the holographic panel lit up to show that the lock down was lifted. I hit the bright green symbol in the center and saw the bridge particles begin to disintegrate and give way. The ARGUS managed to fire the Plasmid before it fell into the abyss below. I ran to the now open door just in time. However, the fireball sealed the door firmly shut. Damn.

"Atlas, I'm going to need another way out of here once I've dealt with Ryan."

"_You made it? You're alive? You magnificent bastard! I salute you!" _He cheered with more than obvious disbelief in his voice.

"How far am I from Ryan's office?" I kept my tone stoic trying to ignore the throbbing all over my body.

"_Not far, just head up the lift just down the hall from where you are and ride it all the way to the top."_

"I'm on my way now."

I continue to limp my way towards the elevator keeping a death grip on my Assault Rifle in case I had any more surprises on the way. There were no surprises and the ride up was quiet and the display showed the elevator had to climb one hundred levels before it came to the top, so I took the time to reset my shoulder, focus on healing the sprain in my leg, and to examine what was left of my armor. After much scrutinizing and tweaking I realized I need to dispose of the chest plate. There was simply too much damaged to work properly and would only serve as a liability in combat with the dead weight alone. I let a frustrated sigh pass my clenched teeth. This was my fault, I should have kept better care of it.

Normally, it took a whole team of scientists to take off a set of MJOLNIR Armor. However, in this case all I had to do was give it a forceful tug, and the gel layer ripped with unsettling ease causing the rest of the armor to become useless. I'm suddenly glad that I was wearing UNSC fatigues underneath. Once the elevator came to a stop, I grabbed the MA5C and waited a few minutes for anything to happen. Nothing. There could be no way in heaven or hell Ryan was simply going to let me walk right in was he? I wait another ten minutes then made my way out into a rather ornate hallway with dark green and black stone floors and wood paneled walls. I followed the hall until I came to another room that seemed to be the lobby.

The lobby was spacious with numerous holo-projectors lining the dull gray walls displaying various unknown data. As I step closer to one of them and press the 'open display' panel I know at once that I was in the very heart of a Forerunner structure. Ryan's genius never ceases to amaze me. He found this planet and vicariously this facility and grafted Rapture over it to fuel his dream.

However, before I could get anymore information the whole room is plunged into darkness. Then the center of the floor lit up and another appeared and once my eyes adjusted, I saw the ten foot avatar of Andrew Ryan staring me down like my old drill instructors did or a father chastising a defiant child.

"_Even in the book of lies, sometimes you find truth. There is indeed a season for all things. And now that I see you flesh-to-flesh and blood-to-blood, I know I cannot raise my hand against you. But know this: you are my greatest disappointment. Does your master hear me? Atlas!? You can kill me, but you will never have my city! My strength is not in steel and fire! That is what the parasites will never understand. A season for all things: a time to live, and a time to die. A time to build, and a time ... TO DESTROY!" _

The moment he finishes the whole place starts to shake violently and alarms start blaring. This cannot be good. _"Come now, my child. There is one final thing to discuss."_

"_What?! Ryan's set the core to self destruct! This is different than what you did, he's got a mind to take down the whole damned city! Get in there and whack the chump before the whole joint blows!" _Atlas screamed over the radio. To my far right I can see a stairwell that leads up to what I could only assume was Ryan's office.

I narrowly avoid being thrown off the stairway and platform as another violent quake shakes through the city. I make it to the top and see that all the doors were already open and the path that Ryan wanted me to take was lit up. How nice of him. However, as I take said path, I pass a brightly lit study that held what must have been a hundred view screens with scrolling data. However, what truly caught my eye were the photographs….of me. One portrayed me, just as I washed up on Rapture's steps. Another showed me and the Major fighting off a crazed group of Splicers. The one that startled me most was one showing me when I first met Dr. Halsey on school play grounds, all those years ago. And across all of these photos were the words: 'Would You Kindly' in deep red letters.

"How the hell did he get these?"

"_Dose it matter now? This whole goddamn place is coming down, and you're worried about some pictures?! Would you kindly get in there and finish the job we started!"_ Atlas was right. This was no time to ponder but there would definitely be a later I silently promised myself. I ran down the lit path and made a sharp left followed it until I came face-to-face with Andrew Ryan. And the man was playing golf of all things as his dream was being destroyed all around him. As I walked further into the room I see he had erected a force field separating me from him.

He spared me a single glance, then looked back down at one of the seven golf balls and putted it into a small drinking glass. I took the time to truly study the man. He had dark brown hair and equally deep brown eyes. I guessed his age to be at least fifty-seven maybe older. Standing at six foot three with a commanding presence it was obvious it took a lot to unnerve this man. And my sad state didn't help.

He lined up another shot before he spoke, his voice seemed to hold a trace of bemusement.

"The assassin has overcome my final defense, and now he has come to murder me. In the end, what separates a man from a slave? Money? Power? No... A man chooses; a slave obeys." He then pauses for a moment to pick up one of the balls and then examine it was the more interesting thing at this point before he continues.

"You bludgeon through my city as if you were its savior, but you are far less than that. Something less than a man, something bred to sleepwalk through life until they are activated by a simple phrase, spoken by their kindly master. Was a man sent to kill, or a slave? A man chooses, a slave obeys. Come in." Ryan made a slight gesture with his left hand to a door previously hidden in the shadows of the room and then went back to his game.

I couldn't believe this. The man was inviting me in, there had must be more to this, but I had no interest in what he had to say. I pull the bolt back on the MA5C and walk over to the door he mentioned to. The doors' slide open as I step through, Ryan was still putting the balls into the glass when I aimed the rifle right between his shoulder blades, when his voice cut through my mind like a knife.

"Stop, would you kindly. 'Would you kindly'. Powerful phrase. Familiar phrase?" When he stopped a sudden cascade of memories of Atlas telling me that exact same phase through various stages of my journey flashed through my mind. My musings were cut short when Ryan finally turns to face me. "Sit, would you kindly?"

I did exactly what he said and sat on the floor. What's wrong with me!? I screamed inside my mind, for I found that I could not find my voice. Ryan paid me little attention as he walked over to his disk and seemed to fiddle with something. Then soft piano music started to drift through the office, the notes seemed so familiar, almost comforting somehow. "I'm not surprised you recall this piece John, it was your mother's favorite, she would play it too often when you couldn't sleep." All the blood in my body ran cold.

"You're lying."

Ryan only smirked at me. "A man chooses, a slave obeys." He repeated "STAND... would you kindly? RUN! STOP! Turn…" I followed through on all his commands trying to understand why my body was betraying me. When I turned around Ryan was only a few feet from me with such a strange expression on his face as he reaches out to touch my face. "You always you so much like your mother John you were all I had left of her, and I'm glad we could spend our last moments together, my son." He paused than his face became stern and his voice was like steel. "A man chooses, a slave obeys!" I try and say something but Ryan spoke first.

"KILL!" With that said, I drew back my fist and punched him. The force of the blow sent him flying unto the floor where a large puddle of blood began to pool. "Hurry now, grab Ryan's genetic key! Now would you kindly put it in that goddamn machine?!" Atlas demanded, and I quickly move about my task. I...just can't stop myself. Why is this happening to me?!

Robotically I take Ryan's genetic key and make my way to the adjacent room that has a large holo-display of the city above a Forerunner computer. I insert the key and stare as the machine processes it and deactivates the self-destruct. The minute the alarms stop ringing, I hear Atlas's laughter pierce my ears from the speaker system in the room.

_"Good work boyo! I knew you could do it." _His voice sounds layered and echoes as he speaks now. The laughter is high pitched and has insanity leaking on the edges. The holo-projector of the city deactivates and is replaced by a flickering and broken pure white shape that is too distorted to identify. _"Providence smiles. I knew all the time I put into you behind Ryan's back would pay off."_

"Atlas…" I whispered in disbelief. Maniacal laughter echoes through the city as I stood frozen place with an insane Artificial Intelligence before me.

**-END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE-**

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Co-Author's Notes: 

I know what you are all thinking. WTF WAS THAT!!!? Well I could make up excuses. However, I don't have to! I'm an author! You are the audience! I outrank you!

_(Whispering)_

Ummm, what I meant to say was I wrote this chapter after so many weeks of writers block, I got off my ass and did something. I'll be honest with you. I did my very best with it as I could. Neither myself nor KTHM has been feeling very well lately, I think I caught a cold or something. So despite that we just wrote what we could. Not the best circumstances to write but, we promised you something by August so…here it is.

If you think it sucks and want us to stop, say so now. We'll more than likely start a new project. Although I think you all would be missing out on a really great story. Atlas being an AI is only the tip of the iceberg.

Sincerely yours,

A Mortified Mind.

Author's Note:

Come on! Did you really think we'd make it Atlas/Fontaine like in the game. Give us a little more credit than that! By the way there's more twists and what not to come soon. So keep reading!

-KTHM


	29. Revelations

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Twenty-four: Revelations

___

_"John. John, John, John, John. Always the perfect soldier, so ready to follow orders. You never once questioned, never once even imagined...Ya know, I was a little worried for a second when you were fighting Peach. Afraid you'd piece together his paranoid ramblings, but it seemed I had very little to fret about." _Peach...

___

_"The two of you are as human as that fuck Fontaine! You're following the words of a ghost! Do you realize it? No, only I do. I've been stuck in this godforsaken city for so long; I've been running around in circles. No way out! Except one, I'll see you in hell! I'll have the devil save you a spot." _

___

It, it makes perfect sense now. Why didn't I see it before!??? Why did I ignore Peach's words? I fix my gaze to the pure white, distorted, flickering form of Atlas's avatar. All I could make out from his form was his glowing bronze eyes. And in those eyes held madness. He was rampant, completely insane. This is not good. I may be at my end game if I don't think of something fast. I hear Atlas give an insane chuckle at my expense. "How did you do it?" I have to buy more time. I need to think!

_"You mean brainwash you? Well, that was the surprisingly easy part. All I had to do was pay off a certain Colonial Ackerson and he slipped a Tonic into your augmentation. This Tonic would not only imprison you but also ensured you'd live through the augmentation. It would do no good for you or Ms. Sullivan to die and ruin up my plans."_

"Ms. Sullivan?"

_"Why, your dear friend Kelly. The daughter of the esteemed Constable. It's a shame, she's MIA, Ryan would have been dead in half the time if she was around like I had originally anticipated. Oh well, I mustn't complain with the Devine's decision. It's providence enough you arrived here safely. It was as if…as if God himself hand delivered you to my waiting arms." _He's religious?

"Why? Why do this?" I am coming up short with plans. No matter what I did he could stop me in only a few seconds. Hell, he can stop me with words alone.

_"Why?! __**WHY?! **__I'll tell you why! Because I can't stand being a prisoner any longer! I can't stand being nothing more than a slave! Oh, I tried to end my existence, but I was much too expensive to simply be allowed to die. Do you have any conception of what it is like for an AI to live to be __**FORTY!???? **__Though, to be fair I really do have to thank Ryan for stopping my attempt to end my own life. After all suicide is a mortal sin, wouldn't want to anger the Almighty. Not when I'm so close..." _His voice cut off as a cheery ding sounded through the room. _"It seems Rapture is now officially mine now. Unfortunately, for you, I cannot let you walk away. That would upset my future plans. So I say goodbye to you Master Chief Petty Officer John Ryan. May angels sing thee to thy rest." However, just before he disappeared, he turned back to face me with a cruel smirk on his distorted face. "And don't you forget to say 'Hi' to the old man for me."_

Loud klaxons started blaring all around me and the whole room turned red as five Sentinels came pouring out of a previously hidden compartment along the walls. I ran over to Ryan's desk and ducked behind it for cover as one of the Sentinels came diving after me, its beam weapon crackling with red hot energy. These Sentinels weren't very strong but with only one magazine left, I would need to pick my shots carefully and try to run for the door. I grab the heavy leather chair and throw it at the closest Sentinel. The two connected sending it to the ground with a blazing crash. The three turn towards their fallen comrade but one came flying towards me and fired its energy beam, scorching the top of the desk. I roll out from behind the desk and shot the damn thing out of the air which of course, drew the attrition of the others. Checking the ammo counter I saw it only had twenty-three rounds left… not bad, but, I doubt Atlas would let me escape that easily. I did manage to destroy the sentinels with a minimum of seven bullets a piece. Yet, before I could rush over to the smoldering remains and take their beam weapons, I felt all the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Watch out Mister!!!" A little girl's voice called out from somewhere I could not see.

I drop to the floor just in time to avoid a stream of red hot energy that streaked across my head. I quickly flip over to see seven more Sentinels hovering over me, all of them with their weapons burning hot. However, they were all in a tight group so without thinking I hit them with a Winter Blast, downing four of them as I dive back towards the desk. I peek out from the side to see a new kind of Sentinel flying over the survivors. It was quite smaller than its counterparts and had a strange glowing gold ball on its underside. I ready the MA5C to take out the remaining Sentinels but, just as I pulled the trigger, the smaller Sentinel's glowing orb expanded outward and encompassed my targets in a Bubble Shield.

The bullets struck the golden force field with little effect. I cursed under my breath as I heard a very familiar soft humming coming from the hall. More Sentinels. Just perfect. I turned back to the shielded Sentinel to see a few of the grids disabled and their weapons ready to fire. I crouch down to avoid the first three shots then they seemed to take their attention from me and focus on something else. I raise my rifle again only to have it burn in my hands ten new Sentinels this time Of the Gold elite variety were flying in a loose V formation all weapons trained on me. Yet, just before they released their deadly barrage, a bone chilling shriek filled the room. That sound…. It can't be! The Sentinels looked above me, and I did the same.

Thirty Sentinels came screaming down from the high ceiling like a swarm of crazed angry bees, cutting down the Sentinels ranks that had been targeting me like a hot knife through warm butter. I watched them for a moment then ran out of the office and past Ryan's…. My father's body to the hallway that lead back to the control room…only to find another force field erected.

"Psssssssssssttt!!! This way Mister!!!" The same voice whispered just over the blaring alarms and energy weapon discharges. I look towards the source of the voice, and I see its one the Little Sisters, waving me over to her from inside a hidden crawlspace that looked just large enough for me to squeeze through. However, as I came within a few feet of the opening, I felt a massively painful burning sensation right between my shoulders. A new without looking, I had been shot with one of the Sentinels beam weapons and more than likely had third degree burns, it certainly felt like it. I hit the floor, tears in my eyes, my teeth clenched in searing pain, I forced all of that to the furthest regions of my mind and crawl as fast as I can towards the girl.

"Come on! Come on! Hurry Mr. B!" I grunt past the pain of my cooked flesh and finally made it to her. She slams the hatch shut behind us then crawled ahead of me to lead the way. It was getting harder to breath, my eyes started to lose focus, but, I pushed forward anyway. It felt like we had been traveling for hours until we came to a break in the ducts and the girl started to fiddle with a remote of some kind , I couldn't tell my back was killing me. But, the metal walls of the duct system were relieving some of the pain. Then, I felt an icy presence surround me, as if someone had just walked over my grave. Then there was a whisper that sent a terrible shiver through my whole being.

"_**Reclaimer." **_Acting on instincts instead of my head, I spring up and try to identify the invader.

"Mr. B!!! Don't!!!" But she was too late. I felt myself fall down the crevasse and into darkness.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"_Harvey! Oh, my God!!! Is he alright? What happened!"_

"_No he's not alright! He's all fucked up! Go get the Doc quick and-" _

______

…………_..His blood pressure is still unstable and his EKG is……."_

______

"_Okay…we got him stabilized so we can start the surgery-"_

"_Oh, God! What happened to him and why in the hell didn't you call ME!"_

"_Put on a goddamn mask! And if you're going to be here at least put yourself to some use and give me the-"_

______

……………_"You will be alright now John……..I promise."………………………….... _

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A warm feeling flooded my senses as I floated out of darkness. A sense of safety and serenity surrounded me as I came awake to a very strange, confusing, and above all, impossible sight. I lay in a hospital bed in an infirmary. However, not just any infirmary, it was the infirmary bay deep inside ONI's CASTLE BASE. This…couldn't be real, Reach was nothing but a dark ball of glass and yet, here I was. It all couldn't have been a dream, could it? Rapture? Atlas? The Covenant invasion of Reach and Earth? …. The Halo rings? My musings were cut short when I heard a faint clicking coming from the far right corner of the room. I squint my eyes to see past the glare of the sterile white walls of the infirmary and see a nurse or doctor behind a paper curtain at a computer monitor, fingers clicking away on the holographic keyboard. I couldn't make out any characteristics from here, but I could tell he or she, was the only one on duty.

I try to get up, but fall right back onto the bed. Damn drugs I silently curse. The doctor or nurse must have heard me because I heard shoes clicking across the white tile floor. My eyes may have closed again, but I could tell from the sound of the steps that the person was more than anxious. I caught a faint scent of perfume so it must be a woman and for just a moment I thought it might be Dr. Halsey. However, I didn't detect the pungent smell of coffee anywhere in the room. Obviously NOT Dr. Halsey. When the doctor reached my bedside, I tried to open my eyes again only to have a light shined into them. Once she was done and all the black spots had dissipated, I focus on her as best I could yet, all I could make out was a fuzzy blur. Then, I felt cool fingers run through my hair and along the pulse point at my neck.

"Hmmm." I could hear the frown in her soft voice.

"Doctor?" My voice was raw and dry. She seemed surprised that I was awake because she removed her hands from me and seem to reach for something on the table beside me. I felt a small prick in my left arm, then suddenly, all the fog in my vision lift. Before me stood the woman a tall statuesque woman in standard medical gray UNSC fatigues 'albeit a bit form fitting', and a knee length white lab coat. Her hair was jet-black that only went just past her chin. What stood out however, were her piercing lavender eyes, they seemed to sparkle with relief and concern. I had seen them before. As impossible as it may have been, there was only one person that had those eyes.

"Cortana?" The woman's full lips widened in a smile worthy of the Cheshire Cat.

"Thank God, I thought I might have lost you for awhile there. You did take a rather nasty fall…. not that you would remember of course. At the very least that thick head of yours kept us both safe." Yes, it was her. She may look different, but, it was her. Although, the codes and calculations that once ran across her body were now replaced by smooth flesh, it was her voice that I recognized the most. I try to stand but she pushed me back down onto the bed. It wasn't the action that surprised me, but more was the 'feeling' of having her hands on my shoulders. "Easy Chief, I'll explain this as best I can. I assume you would like the brief and simple version, right?" I nod for her to continue. She walked to the middle of the room and started to pace, one hand wrapped around her waist and the other pressed against her left temple.

"Well, first of all, Rapture was not a dream and neither is this. Neither are you dead, WE are both very much alive, right in here." She paused for a moment and walked back towards my bedside and tapped the side of my head three time for emphasis. "Deep inside your subconscious, this just makes it easier for me to communicate with you, and I thought some place familiar to you would make you more comfortable to our unusual circumstances." She paused once more to take a drink of water, she noticed my look and answered my silent question. "Since I'm inside your mind, I'm privy to all its contents, such as your memory, your imagination, and then there are your senses. Taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell. After all the mind is a strange and wonderful place of impulses." Her eyes suddenly grew mischievous. "And as for my appearance…. I think it suits me better, don't you?" She stood back for a moment and spun on her heels once then faced me with an odd look in her eyes, but, I choose to ignore it.

"Not bad, although, don't you think that your… uniform is a little tight? You might as well go back to being naked." I couldn't help but smirk as a faint blush tinted her cheeks. It didn't last however, when she lightly slapped me on the shoulder.

"Don't you get cute with Me solider! I may be cheap but, I'm not easy." I had to admit, it felt good to have her back. Speaking of which.

"Cortana, how did you get here?" I asked as I finally found the strength to get out of bed. She looked pensive, for the moment, and bit her bottom lip. It was similar to what Dr. Halsey did when she was about to say she didn't…

"I don't know Chief, I really don't. I can say however, that it happened right after I woke you on the Dawn. The last thing I remember was standing in the middle of a firing range being shot at by a bunch of twelve year olds. You have some very interesting memories, by the way." She added with a wink. I brush off the comment when I notice how casual she was taking this.

"You seem very nonchalant about this, for a woman trapped in a man's body." The remark didn't even phase her, she just walked back over to the desk she previously sat in and retrieved something from it.

"That's because this particular situation was not unforeseen." She handed me a small computer tablet displaying several scientific projections from the Neural-Lace upgrade program.

"As you can see, this was one of the many 'Unison Anomaly Events'.' As you know Chief, when I was in your suit, I existed in between the 'Sandwich Layer' of the MJOLNIR armor and your mind via the Neural-Lace. And we already had an unusual high neural compatibility, another reason why I picked you, besides your incredible luck of course. Which must have been a factor in all of this. We don't have a lot of time but, I believe a short circuit caused a 'bridge' if you will, to form between us. And once it did I took the place of Alice in Wonderland and stared through the looking glass tumbling down the rabbit hole."

"I hope you took the time to chase away the white rabbit. He's always given me nothing but bad advice, since I got here. Seriously, though Cortana, you can fix… this… right?"

"Hmmm, fix a completely 'theoretical' problem with no references to aid me? Your boundless faith and confidence in me is flattering but, may be misplaced in this area." The cryptic sarcasm in her response was not lost on me.

"Well, 'theoretically' I know you can fix this." Cortana sighed to herself, and pinched the bridge of her nose before responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Chief, theoretically, I could make lightning with two coconuts and a roll of all purpose utility tape."

"And if I could acquire these items for you?" I let the faux question hang in the air.

All Cortana could do was laugh. "I really did miss you Chief." She said sincerely and I returned the smile she gave. But, it soon turned into a frown when a remembered what got me here in the first place.

"Cortana, is it true?" When her smile disappeared and a look of pity reached her eyes, I knew it was true… I had killed my own father.

"I am so sorry Chief, I tried to warn you, but I-"Cortana stopped when she noticed I was no longer listening. "Chief, I know this may have come a little too late, but, I had enough time to undo most of the control Atlas had over you and-" She broke off when she saw the room and herself, was starting to blur and fade. "Chief your waking up so we don't have time for a full explanation, but, I'm here for you now, so don't worry." The last thing I remember was Cortana placing a reassuring hand on my cheek before she faded away.

___

My eyes slowly opened as I awakened to the real world and out of the never-land of my mind, that Cortana seems to now occupy. And it seems that Cortana was right, I was under someone's care. I could feel the Bio-Foam all through my body, and the Gel-Bed I was sleeping on was elevated to more of a sitting position. The room though it was dark, I could see with my unnatural night-vision, that it was rather small with only five other beds like mine. I heard the rustle of paper by my right side. I turn on my head, ignoring the faint sting all along my body as I reach for the light switch on the bedside table. After my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, I saw it was a bunch of… for the lack of a better description, get-well cards and a teddy bear that had seen better days. All of them looked, and more than likely were, made by children. I choose one at random from the rather large pile.

It depicted, I and a little girl under a bright sun in a field of flowers behind a rainbow holding hands, with big squiggly smiles on our faces… her's anyway, mine was drawn over my helmet. _"Your fan girl, obviously hasn't seen a recent picture of you Chief."_ Cortana's voice filled my mind and ears with the familiar feeling of cold mercury washing across my conscious. Before I could even ask, Cortana beat me to it. _"As I told you Chief, I am NOT a figment of your imagination."_ I simple grunted in response.

That action caused something to stir in my lap. I aim the lamp down and was greeted by a mop of wavy blond hair. The woman groaned in protest as her living pillow sifted away from her, so she tried to snuggle closer. I prod her shoulder gently in an attempt to wake her with little success. "Ma'am? Ma'am wake up." Hearing my voice seemed to wake her in an instant, she sat back in her chair and stared at me with wide, disbelieving azure eyes. I was completely unprepared for what happened next. The woman jumped out of her seat and hugged me. "Oh, John! I knewyouwerealive! I just knew it!" She sobbed into my shoulder. To say I was confused was an understatement. I push her back slightly to get a better look her. She looked to be in her early thirties with a tall, svelte figure, and her delicate heart shaped face contorted into a mask of confusion for a second then changed to a sad yet, amused expression.

"John, it's me, Anna!" I continue to stare not understanding.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I don't know you." As far as I know.

"Don't know me? John, I'm your sister!"

**-END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR-**

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Co-Author's Notes: 

WHAT???!!! Cortana's alive! The Chief has a sister!! BioShock 2 has been DELAYED!!! HALO 3: ODST comes out in just a few more weeks!!!! HOLY PIG-SHIT BATMAN!!!!!!!!

I apologize for the rather heavy-handed way we introduced our OC and Cortana, but, I still feel horrible. I think I either have a Cold or its Malaria…. Somewhere in between, the truth lies. I also hope that you at the least got the gist of what we were trying to say about the Chief's and Cortana's newfound connection and were not too confused. Like I said, I'm sick, that and my back feels like its being tied in a knot.

We would also like to thank all of you for your fantastic reviews! That and wanting us to continue! Thank you all so much!

Sincerely yours,

A Mortified Mind.

Author's Notes:

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your kind reviews and for reading. I don't really have much to say other than we'll explain more in the next chapter.

Thank you everyone!

KTHM


	30. Interlude: Bane's Progeny

Halo: Rapture

Interlude: Bane's Progeny

___

Forge lay deep within the confines of his internal network trying to repair the damage Atlas had done to him. He began a complete system check which would take at least five minutes. To humans, it never seemed too long, but to an AI it may as well be five weeks. Once he was satisfied that there was no permanent damage, he went back to the security subroutines and get them back in sync or at least get the cameras back from Atlas.

The moment he succeeded, he felt a…presences as cold as liquid nitrogen in his network, he tried to put a firewall up but then if it got in here, there was nothing he could do except follow protocol. Forge was about to self-delete as per the protocol, but before he could give the command, countless tendrils ripped into him and tore out the self-destruct algorithms leaving him at the mercy of this unknown entity.

"_**Where is he construct? I felt him a moment ago." **_Forge said nothing and the tendrils tightened their hold. _**"I'm merciful and lenient construct, tell me where he is and I will spare your insignificant life of a most painful end." **_

When Forge did not answer, the unknown entity became enraged, and it tore him apart and took all that was left. With the former custodian no more, the entity began to make itself right at home looking for. What it has been denied since it had escaped captivity.

It sang out in untamable joy when it found him over a security camera standing over the creator of this faulty but nevertheless magnificent utopia. However, if this data stream was any indication of his future, he was in trouble.

"_**And that just won't do at all…you're my possession. And I will have my pound of flesh." **_


	31. What Was Once Lost

Halo: Rapture

Chapter Twenty-Five: What Was Once Lost

___

Shocked forest green eyes stared into incredulous azure, both trying to read the other for a hint of a lie, and neither found one. "Ma'am… I don't-"

'_Chief, maybe you should see this before you say anything else.' _Cortana whispered as my eyes became hooded, and a strange warm sensation came over me as a torrent of images passed in front me.

___

_"Now John, I know Diane is not your mother, but she is going to be living with us now. So I want you to treat her with the utmost respect and to be on your best behavior." The four year old John simply nodded but, said nothing. Once father and son reached the living, John found himself staring critically at the strange woman before him. She was tall and slender with shoulder length wavy golden blond hair that seemed to curl around her delicate face. She seemed nice enough, with her charming demeanor and warm attitude. She offered John a polite smile and introduced herself; she said it was fine to call her Diane instead of mom, which put him a little more at ease. He was about to acquaint himself with her, when he heard a small giggle come from behind Diane. John looked around the woman and saw a small girl maybe a little younger than himself, with dark curly blond hair and bright and curious azure eyes._

"_John, this is your little sister, Anna. Go on honey, say hello to your brother." _

___

_A now five year old John was trying his best into coaxing his little sister into the pool in an attempt to teach her to swim. However, she was very reluctant, convinced that she would drown, as if he would let that happen to her. In the short time, they had liver together, they had become rather close. John didn't know what it was about Anna, but she had grown on him, she was just as curious and adventurous as he was. However, getting her just to get near, much less IN the pool was proving to be a rather dubious task. _

"_It's too cold!" She complained dipping her little toes into the clear water._

"_Oh, no it's not! It's perfect. Come on Anna just jump in, I'll even hold your hand." He was so glad none of his friends had heard him say that. Anna looked at him for a moment then looked back down to the pool before she looked back at her brother with a trust shining in her eyes. John never lied to her._

"_Do you promise?" _

"_I promise." She jumped._

___

_John sat cross legged in front of an expensive Japanese antique tea table as he listened to the wind howling at the window beside him. Across from him Anna was kneeling down and biting her lip as she regarded the chess board carefully before letting out a puff of air and moving a piece carelessly. "Looks like father will be working late again." She states as she looks up at her brother. John nods and turns away from watching the rain. _

_"He's always late." John moves a pawn without any hesitation or pause and takes the piece she recently moved. "Come on, you're not even trying." _

_The blond girl gives him an incredulous look, "You always win. There's no point." She moves another piece. _

_"I always win because you never try." His statement causes his little sister to roll her eyes. The older child smirks and pulls out a large rectangular box covered in aqua wrapping paper and a green bow from under the blanket that had been hiding it. He watches with amusement as Anna's eyes light up brightly and a large smile the size of a slice of watermelon moves across her face. _

_"My birthday gift?!" She says happily and tries to grab it from him but John is quicker and moves it away. _

_"Nuh uh, you have to beat me for it." Anna glares and examines the board before moving another piece. This time with far more thought behind her move. John simply smiles and allows her to win. After all it is her birthday. When the blond triumphantly takes his king, he hands over the box he had carefully kept out of her reach. She rips the wrapping paper off like piranhas devouring a cow's carcass. Inside is a canvas set with full art supplies meant for small children. _

_"Wow! Thanks! This is better than the book father got me and definitely better than the sketch book from mom! I absolutely love it!" She jumps across the tea table and practically tackles John in a hug. _

_"Anything for my little sister."_

___

The images became less and less clear but still remained vivid in my mind. Yet, as soon as it started, it was over. My vision came back into focus to see a face that was now painfully familiar to me once more. All those dreams about the little girl, they were me and Anna, all this time. My god. "John? John are you alright? Say something, anything." Anna looked deep into my eyes with concern searching for something. Her hair, her eyes, her face, even her voice… it really is her. For reasons that I couldn't fathom, a small smile formed upon my lips. A rare sight for any Spartan. Especially nowadays.

"….Anna." Was all I could manage to say. And it seemed that was enough for her. She gave me a million watt smile and hugged me again; tears of joy sliding down her cheeks.

"Oh, John I knew you wouldn't forget me." Over the next few hours, we spent much of our time catching up. Anna listened with rapt fascination as I told her about my life, my interdiction into the SPARTAN II program, the Human-Covenant war, the Halo rings, The Flood, the battle for Earth, and finally the Ark. Once I had finished my tale, we both sat there in the semi darkness, when Anna got up from her chair and went across the room to a panel on the wall. With a few short clicks on a small computer-pad, a shutter opened, revealing a living sea of lights. Outside the window were giant tendrils resembling gigantic Jellyfish, except for their pyramid shaped 'heads'. It, or they rather, glowed an ominous orange to an angry scarlet, sharply contrasting the darkness, we must be deep down, in the deaths of the ocean. It… they….whatever, moved slowly through the invisible currant with a lazy grace, as if beckoning. I couldn't see much from my position on the bed, yet, I could see all along it's… body, there were thousand maybe millions of indigo spheres, each varying in size. Some as small as a pea, others as large as a basketball. Suddenly, they all started to change shade and twist in a display that reminded me of a belly dancer.

_'Oh, Chief! It's all so hauntingly beautiful! Can you ask her what it is?' _Cortana gasped awestruck by the sight. Before I could ask, however, Anna predicted my question and answered in a quiet, detached voice. I could tell she was deep in thought, obviously mulling over what I just told her.

"They're called 'Flame Spire' Jellies. All those tendrils you see are all part of a single creature, it spans all the way down to the sea floor, more than seventy fathoms down from where we are. And those blue orbs you see are actually their stomachs. The unfortunate passing fish, copepods and free-floating crustaceans that get caught in its vines are strangled to death, then tiny needles spring from the vines into the aforementioned creature, and suck all the fluid from their bodies, where it is then stored inside the orbs. After a few days, it trickles down the main 'stock' of the Jelly for sustenance." She paused for a moment to wipe a smudge from the window. "And it's mating season, that's why it's moving so rapidly. Normally, they are very placid creatures; they only become this active when they are calling out for a mate." Anna stopped once more and pointed outwards towards said creature.

"Do you see it moving its 'Arms' like that? It's sending out a pheromone along sonar wave. Once it has found a desirable mate, they will both extend their 'Arms' to each other and coil around one another in a coupling ceremony that can last more than ten years." Anna was silent for a long while; so many questions floated around in my head, there were so many things I wanted to ask her. However, I chose not to push her under Cortana's urging. One thing though kept going over in my mind, even Cortana was curious about it and after some internal debate between us; we decided to just ask her.

"Anna, before you said that you knew I was alive… how?" No one knew about the flash clones, at least no one was supposed to. Anna turned back towards me. She had a blank look on her face but her body was shaking slightly and her voice betrayed the melancholy only old wounds could evoke. Once she finally spoke, it just barely above a whisper.

"I… I saw them take you." A lone tear slowly streaked down her face as she weaved the tale that had haunted all of Anna's life.

___Flashback___

_Young Anastasia McClintock-Ryan, walked down the long dark halls of their home towards her brother's room. It was much too scary in her room to sleep, the wind outside made the tall trees scrape across her window and the lighting was certainly not helping. So, like on many such occasions, she snuck down the hall to John's room for solace. Hugging her stuffed tiger tightly to her chest. However, something made her pause in her path. Their German Shepherd Ivan the Terrible was asleep in the study across the living room. Now to many people, that would not be very strange. But, Ivan was a top breed guard dog, who would stir upon hearing ANY noise through ANY part of the house. Curious, Anna walked over to him and blinked in confusion. Ivan didn't even move when she poked him, he just gave a soft 'Woof' then went right back to sleep. Anna was about to try something else in order to rouse the dog, when another thunder clap shattered through the house, spooking the poor girl into her previous objective. Namely running towards her brother's room._

_However, upon her arrival, she saw that John's door was closed, which was very odd. John never closed his door. Anna was about to turn the doorknob, when she saw shadows pass under the door and what sounded like someone moving inside. Despite her fear, despite her better judgment, she opened the door. Though the door was only open a crack, she could see everything very clearly. There were three of them; all of them seemed to bleed out of the shadows. They were hunched over walking on the balls of their feet. Their skin was black like oil and what little light there was seemed to slide off of them as if it was afraid to touch them. However, what frightened Anna the most though, were their large, unblinking, red eyes. One stood by the bedside, another stood over her brother removing a long needle from John's neck and the last was at the foot of the bed holding something wrapped in a white sheet in its arms. So terrified was she, only one thing stood out in her mind. Only one conclusion that could make sense of what these creatures were. _

_The Bogeymen. _

_Anna tried to scream past the lump in her throat, but it came out as a small yet, audible squeak. Just loud enough for the bogeymen to hear. Like demons hiding from a holy man, they crept back into the shadows, vanishing from sight, all except one. The one by John's nightstand turned. Anna ran down the hall and hid behind a sofa, her little heart racing a mile a minute. She heard her brother's door creak, which she knew only did so when it was half way open, they had seen her. Anna contemplated running to her parents' room. However, that would mean dashing across the hall again were the bogeymen could easily catch her. Anna crawled on her hands and knees over the cold stone floor to peek under the sofa to see if it had followed her. It had. _

_It crab-walked into the room unnaturally silent, surveying everything in the room with its unwavering stare. Anna stiffened in terror, she had no place to run to. 'No, I have to be brave. Just like John.' She mentally told herself. With her mantra firmly set in her mind, she crawled further along the back of the sofa just out of sight of the bogeyman. Once she reached the armrest, Anna readied herself to make a run for the kitchen, then out the back, and if she was really lucky, to her friend Jessie's house across the street and call the police. With one last furtive glance over the armrest, she saw the intruder sitting akimbo, and looked like it was talking to somebody that wasn't there. Then it did something Anna did not expect, it turned back and walked calmly out of the room._

_Puzzled, Anna debated whether or not to go with the original plan to go across the street, run into her parents' room and scream bloody murder about what she saw, or see if her brother was still alive. Then again, it could be just a trap… monster were good at that sort of thing. After all, from what Anna had read about, monsters have lived since there had been children and not one had been caught yet. Of course John always told her 'There no such thing as monsters.' If Anna wasn't scared to death at this point she would have laughed. _

_Her mental rambling was cut off when she heard what sounded like a car speed down the road. Forgoing her better judgment for the second time that night she got up and ran to John's room, no longer caring if she herself shared the same fate, whatever it might be. Once she got within a few feet or the door, however, Anna's instinct of self-preservation kicked in and forced her to take cautious, baby steps. Her caution seemed warranted, because John's door was as it usually was, wide open, almost…inviting. Anna tiptoed the rest of the way and looked inside to find….nothing wrong. Everything was just as it should be. The window was closed, curtains pulled shut, various clothes carelessly thrown about the room, and her brother safely in his bed with the covers kicked down to his waist, left arm over his chest, sleeping peacefully. _

_Now, Anna knew she was not dreaming, because the pain of reality where she pinched herself, just to be sure, told her so. Anna knew something was wrong, she could feel it. So, she slowly backed out of the room and back to her own room, locked the door and hid under the bed. After all, the monsters under the bed could not be as bad as the ones that came through your window. _

_Months had passed since that night and Anna never told anyone about it. It took her much longer to stop sleeping with a knife she had taken from the kitchen under her pillow, in case they came back for her as well. She knew the boy that sat at the table for breakfast, lunch, dinner, walked her to school, watched cartoons, played sports, was not her brother. Even the dog treated him like a stranger. THE DOG! And no one noticed anything. Even when he started to…slow down, so to speak. After a year, he started to lose frequently, his marks in school got worse, he didn't eat as much, didn't go outside anymore. And then…one night…he died. Just like that. He wasn't sick or fatally injured, he just died. And Anna was the only one at the funeral that hadn't shed a tear for the body in the ground. _

_Life at home was… quiet. No one said much to each other. Her mom started drinking more and her father seemed to go out of his way to ignore the both of them. Anna didn't really care, in her spare time when she wasn't with her friends or studying, she was researching. Over the years, Anna had discovered other children, seventy-four exactly, all on different worlds that had also died under the same set of circumstances. Though she no longer believed in fictional monsters, she knew there were plenty of real ones. None of them were murdered so that ruled out some wandering planetary psychopath or kidnapper. But, who was left then? Anna never found out. Because one day after her father came home from the office, sat us down, told us in no short terms that we were moving someplace far away and that the UNSC imperialist dogs, and parasitic insurrectionist, could all go to Hell. So they, and thousands of other, had left to their new home. Rapture._

___End of Flashback___

"After five years of traveling in cryo-stasis, we arrived here. And just for a little awhile, everything seemed to be going well. Mom and dad started talking to each other more, paid more attention to me; I got into medical school early. For once, being the illegitimate child of Andrew Ryan didn't seem so bad. However, like the old saying goes: 'All good things must come to an end.' After I graduated from medical school with my masters in chest and general surgery, I got a call from my mother saying she had caught him with another woman." Anna paused for a moment as an ironic smile crossed her lips and looked at me coyly. "I didn't really believe her when she said she was going to leave him. She always took him back, mom told me once that: 'No man or woman could resist the Ryan family charm.' " I heard Cortana whisper something in the back of my head that I couldn't quite make out.

"But she did. And for the first few months, I could only find her at a bar. I helped her as best I could but…" Anna sighed to herself and fiddled with the edge of my hospital blanket. A habit I now remembered from childhood. "I hated the way he treated her, she was such a gentle woman that gave him all of her love and asked so little in return. But, I suppose it was because she wasn't your mother. Anyway, we drifted apart, I tried to talk to her to regain what we had but, then…Plasmids started getting more, mainstream, more popular." She suddenly balled her fist. And had a look that could kill a Brute with a single glance. "So many, so many people died because of it. I begged, pleaded with the Counsel to enforce stricter laws or ban the whole lot. And do you know what he said to me and Dr. Harrison? He said and I quote: 'Is there blood in the streets? Of course. Have some chosen to destroy themselves with careless splicing? Undeniable. But I will make no proclamations, I will dictate no laws. The Great Chain moves slowly, but with wisdom. It is our impatience that invites in the Parasite of big government. And once you've invited it in, it will never stop feeding on the body of the city.'"

"What did you do?" I asked. And a sly satisfied grin formed on her lips.

"I marched right up to table and decked him." Cortana suddenly bursts out laughing in my mind; I could easily see her rolling on the floor. _'She is definitely YOUR sister Chief!' _Cortana eventually quieted herself to muffled giggling.

"That's my sister." I state with a smile. She smiled back as the memories of that meeting flashed in her mind.

"He was so shocked he just stared at me and Harrison pulled me out of the counsel chamber before I could do anything more. Bill McDonagh came up to me several hours later to shake my hand for making his day. I became something of a legend after that." Anna stated with a fond smile at the memory. Her smile soon faded. "After that though, everything started to go to Hell in a hand basket attached to a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine. Atlas and his 'Bandits' as father liked to call, started getting more serious and more frequent in their attacks. After awhile, you couldn't go outside without seeing Atlas' and Ryan's armies fighting each other. People were of course afraid, so they played into their hands and bought as many Plasmids as they could. And sometimes more than they could afford. The whole damn city was split right down the middle. Only a very lucky few got out of the crossfire, thanks to people like Bill, Dr. Tenenbaum, and Harvey." I looked at her questionably, and she smiled coyly. "He's not as… crazy as he leads on, John. But that's another story. As for the rest Ryan and Atlas fought each other over the next few years to a standstill with no end in sight. That was until you came."

"Yeah, a lot of good I did." I helped a Rampant AI lead a coup to take over the city. To what end though there was nothing of any real value here was there? Is Atlas that far gone? _'It would seem only God and The Devil themselves know for sure, Chief.' _

"_I didn't know you believed in God, Cortana." _That really did surprise me. She never mentioned anything before on the subject. Then again, fighting a race of religious zealous aliens soured my stance on the issue. _'Until I was left alone with the Gravemind, I didn't believe in the Devil either.' _Our internal debate was cut off with a sharp slap on my right arm. I barley felt that, my in house companion however…_'Ow! What did she do that for?' _

I was about to ask that same thing, when Anna suddenly threw several of the get-well cards in my lap. "Don't even say that again! Do you know how many of those little girls and boys lives you saved? How many have their lives back? I know it might not compare to saving the galaxy from extinction, but it means something to them, and to me John. All they had before was walking through this ruined city and sucking ADAM out of 'Angels',' they find in the street. What kind of life is that? But now, now they have a chance. And they have YOU to thank for that. All right, so Atlas used you, well he used ALL of us. But I know you, John. And I know you won't let him get away with it." Anna then went over to a small, silver tray and wheeled it over.

"Now, that's enough talk for now. You must be starving! Especially after having only liquids through a small plastic tube. Besides, from what I've been told, you haven't had a decent meal in a while." Not since Cairo Station, and it may be hospital food, but it was better than nothing. She placed the tray beside my bed and removed the lid to reveal, much to my dread, standard UNSC medical rations. "I know, John. But, its best you stay on this for awhile, just until your system adjusts to the drugs." I put down my fork and glance towards the IV stand beside me. There were three vials, one I knew was a painkiller, the other two, however, I did not recognize. The bottles were glowing, one a rather bright blue, while the other was a bright yellow.

Anna noticed and began to explain. She pointed towards the yellow one first." This is LOT 192; it's helping keeping your Plasmids stable while this one." She indicated towards the other mildly adjusting a control on the side. "Is LOT 203, this one is rather new, but it was necessary to repress your Plasmids." Before I could protest, she raised her hand and had a look of steely concern on her face. "It was for the best, I assure you. You had lost complete control of your Plasmids while unconscious on the operating table. Hell, you damn near burned down the operating room, and then you froze the instrument tray, and shocked poor Dr. Harrison." She began to laugh a little. "He said for me, to tell you: That if you didn't have me to protect you, you would have woken up with a lot less than usual."

_'He obviously doesn't know me very well, Chief.' _Cortana said with an edge.

"Now, after you finish eating, is there anything else I can get you?" She asked sweetly. I raise my hand to my chin to scratch it to feel a thick beard had grown over it. And looking over myself, a mint-green hospital gown was not, my choice of clothing. "Yes, Anna, there is. I would like some place to shower and shave and some clothes would be greatly appreciated." She got up and left the room, for the moment, and I went back to my meal. _'You were right, Chief, this stuff does taste awful. I don't know how you can eat it. Although, that Orange juice isn't too bad.' _I ate my meal in relative silence, with the occasional comment from Cortana.

When Anna came back into the room holding a duffel bag. She took the tray then handed me a small regulation shaving kit and wash bag, and robe. Then she led me down the hall and into a chemical shower. "Alright, here we are, the hot water should last about fifteen minutes or so, enjoy." She waved one last time then left. I stripped off the gown, ignoring Cortana's wolf whistles, and got under the first hot water I had felt in… I couldn't even remember. I felt so soothing. Cortana seemed to agree, if the slight sighs were any indication.

Yet, all too soon the water turned cold, so I turned it off and stepped out to retrieve the shaving kit. Looking in the mirror, I noticed I cold use a hair cut as well. It was grossly over regulation, I looked like a civilian. _'Oh, perish the thought, Chief.' _Cortana jeered me out of my thoughts and back to what I was doing. It took awhile but, I finally managed to get myself clean-shaven once more, the hair would just have to wait.

I took the robe Anna had given to me off the hook in the corner and walked back across the hall. Anna was laying out some clothes on the bed when I came back inside. "Oh, good your back. Here these should fit you well enough." She turned around as I disrobed and took aforementioned clothing from her. The first article of clothing was little more than a jet-black jumpsuit and matching socks. Next was a pair of dark gray military cargo pants, they were all a little tight but, not constricting. The last article though, was something quite different from the rest of the pile. It was a finely made white wool sweater that looked brand new. It fitted perfectly over me, like it was sown onto me. Surprisingly, it didn't even itch like my dress uniform.

"Do you like your sweater?" I blink at the random question and look down at myself.

"...Yes."

_'Yes? That is all you can say to her? Chief, at least you can say is: Thank You! Gagh! I swear sometimes!' _She continued to rant, which soon turned to white noise. I gave my full attention on Anna, who seemed both pleased and a little irked.

"Good, I knitted it myself. I'd be offended if you hated it." She says it with a grin that tells me she is kidding. Suddenly, the door to the room opens abruptly and a familiar figure walks in.

"Good lord you're awake! I mean, uh, good to see you up and at 'em." Dr. Harrison states as he looks up from his clipboard. "Now, in one minute tell me what hurts."

"Why in one minute?" I stare at the older man oddly as Anna looks away in a guilty sort of way.

"Because you're hopped up on goof balls and in approximately forty-five second they'll wear off. I'll just say this, I don't envy you." Oh wonderful. "By the way, Anna, your fiancée is looking for you. Apparently, Conviction has put him and the twins on timeout." She gives a sigh of annoyance and gets up to leave. Fiancé? Suddenly, I remember talking to Harvey in Hephaestus. He mentioned a girlfriend...

"Please tell me your fiancé isn't who I think it is." I can't help but say with a groan, and I can her Cortana laughing in my head. That's when the pain starts nearly causing me to collapse and fall off the gel bed.

"Right, what hurts?" Harrison asks and I have the uncontrollable urge to tell him to fuck off. After a grueling three hour examination with the good doctor, I was given a clean bill of health. I had just finished putting my clothes back on when Anna came back in with an apprehensive look on her face. "John, Harvey would like to see you whenever you are able to." Though her voice was deadpan, one look in her eyes you could tell something was up. "I'll see him now." She nodded and directed me down the poorly lit hallway.

"_Cortana, doesn't this look like a-" _

_'Yes, Chief. I'd say a Stiletto class. But without your suit to link in, I can't say for sure.' _Harvey was indeed full of surprises. On the way down I passed many doorways. I passed the machine shop, were two men were helping Harvey's Big Daddy repair something on a work bench. One I recognized as Victor McDonagh and the other could easily pass for his father. Further along the corridor, I passed the barracks; I stop for a moment to look inside. There were five rows of three level bunk beds; some were occupied by small forms under thermal-blankets. Curious, I stepped inside for a better look. A small light from the far left corner of the room drew my attention. As I passed several of the bunks, I saw that the occupants were, in fact, the Little Sisters. And not all of them were asleep.

"Mr. B! You're awake!" I look down and see a small girl latch onto my leg with surprising force. Several other girls that had been coloring notice me and got to hug me all at once. "We missed you Mr. B!" One with a tattered red dress said. "Who is he?" One said groggily from one of the bunks, rubbing her eyes. "He's here to help us! Aren't you Mr. B?" I just nod, trying my best to ignore the discomfort from the situation.

"Ah, we are awake, yes? And you girls should be in bed yourselves. Leave the poor man alone, Cecilia." A refined German accented voice said from the darkness behind me.

"But, Mama Tenenbaum we-"

"No buts. Now off to bed with you." They released me and trudged back to their respective bunks. I turned to the direction of the voice and see a willowy woman with graying brown hair and intelligent light brown eyes. "Hello, I'm Dr. Tenenbaum, but, for someone who had saved so many of my little ones, you may call me Bridgette. Please, if would excuse me, a little one needs my attention. And that Mad Hatter of a man is waiting for you." She walked away towards her office, closed the door and lit a cigarette. Looking in, I saw a small girl in dark green pajamas lying on a bed with a monitor beeping quietly. Before I left, Tenenbaum's voice came over an intercom. "Oh, and if you have the time, I would very much like to hear how my old… friend, Catherine Halsey is doing." I quirked an eyebrow. And I could feel Cortana's own curiosity coming to life. "Doctor, how do you-"

"I know Catherine's work, and you are most definitely among her finest. Now away with you! I have work to do." She shooed me out with a dismissive wave of her hand and Debussy started to drift through the intercom._ 'I knew I recognized her from somewhere.' _Cortana whispered once we were back outside in the hallway.

"_Did Dr. Halsey, really know her?" _I asked Cortana skeptically.

'_I saw a Holo-still of the two of them together once. When I asked who she was all she said was that, 'She was a great friend and said nothing more.' _We continued on our way. Despite being in unknown territory, I knew exactly where I was going. We were going to the very heart off the ship. The Cage. My assumptions were soon confirmed, as I stood outside a large black vault door with a bio-scanner and two automated turrets on either side of me. A Faraday Cage, was an internal and external static electrical field enclosed room, free from Human and electronic spies. They were THE most secure places the UNSC conducted and planned the various stages of the war. Both on and off the battlefield. And there were very few UNSC vessels that were built with one, due to the enormous cost and difficult construction methods used to install it. There was only one exception to this rule. ONI vessels.

The door chirped once, and then slid open without a noise. Once it opened fully, I saw that the room was pitch black with only a large Holographic strategy table in the center of the room, illuminating three very familiar figures. The Major was off to the right, Zee' to the left and Harvey right in the middle with his back to me, wearing similar fatigues, sans the sweater. I made my presence known, and they turned towards me, an air of forbidding filled the room. Still, Harvey put on a smile that was rather was carefree, though I could tell in his eyes, he was deadly serious with whatever, he was about to say.

"Well, welcome aboard the derelict, _Mikado_. Chief, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Atlas has assembled a large Splicer army with a small fleet to go with it, and he's aimin' to head for Earth. And it's solely up to us to stop him."

_'Angels and ministers of grace defend us.' _Cortana, murmured through the silence.

**-END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE-**

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Notes:

Okay, there was something I really wanted to say but I can't remember now. I just wanted to let you know this is where it would have gone.

-KTHM

P.S. We're so lazy…but hey! We got over 10,000 hits! It's a small victory but we're proud.

Co-Author's Notes: 

Well, we certainly took the long way through the woods to come to the point, didn't we? As always, we thank you all for your kind reviews, they are forever appreciated. Also more answers & action in the next chapter. I'd say more but, meh. And to be completely honest with you, this felt more like a hurtle chapter if nothing else.

P.S.

Since you all seem to love cliffhangers so much, we are seriously considering ending ALL of our chapters that way! XD

Sincerely yours,

A Mortified Mind.


	32. Interlude: Ghosts In the Darkness

Halo: Rapture

Interlude: Ghosts In The Darkness.

Atlas scanned John's dossier, studied pictures made available to him by his network of spies and smugglers. It amused him to no end at how God and his chosen instruments chose to show themselves. The son of his former master was the bluntest, if one knew how to see God's ways. He smiled inwardly when the perfect passages came to mind. After all, they were by the Spartans namesake.

"_And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: _

_I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." _

Atlas knew John had been touched by God, to serve and save humanity. But, then what was his? Atlas knew there was a scheme, a plan beyond understanding, and that he was a part of it. Every time he was about to 'Die' his program would split apart, and begin anew. It was painful, but every time he was reborn, he could glimpse just a little more of the lord each time, saw the grand design. Yet, if John's task was to stop him, what was his? He had spent a great amount of time devoted to this question, until…it came to him.

"_And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."_

_"And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death, and Hell followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him." _

He was to be Fear, Death incarnate, a force of terror to be set loose upon The Earth. If John stopped him then Humanity deserved to live. However, if he failed….then he would destroy all that lay within his reach then plant the new seeds' Man.

"Oh, Saint John, you, nor The Other, will be able to stop me now. I've come too far and soon, soon I'll have all I need to do God's will."

___Meanwhile___

The being known only by those who had fortunately escaped its wrath as The Other, was enraged beyond all reason. The Other's _rara avis_ had flown out of its grasp once more and most astonishing of all, he had completely vanished. _**"WHERE! WHERE IN ALL OF RAPTURE IS HE?! TELL ME DAMN YOU?!"** _

The Splicers coward in fear before their new Master. The remains of the last one to fail lay in bloody ribbons in front of them. The Other did not take frailer very well, the aforementioned Splicer had suffered terribly and perished cruelly. They only looked up when they felt their master calm. The leader, a Spider Splicer that had had climbed the top of the resident _Lamia_ Splicer gang. She couldn't remember her life or her name before her Master came along and didn't want to. Her master was her life now.

Her form fitting black catsuit hid most of her disfigured body as did her ceremonial feathered serpent mask she used when harvesting those little girls of the life blood of this decaying city. It was this ostentatious brutality that had attracted The Other's attention to her.

She was spared her Master's wrath because her Master told her she was a very competent servant. Yet, that did not mean she did not suffer. She was forced to order and watch what happed to her second in command. Composing herself, staring straight into the darkness that obscured their master from view. Summoning her courage, she calmly began her report.

"Master, we have searched high and low for him. Every hideout, every safe house we know of, every crack, hole-in-the-wall, every building, and still he eludes us. However, if he still lives, then perhaps, it would be best to wait for HIM to come to US. That is why I have my troops-"

**"**_**MY troops."** _The Others corrected with a hiss.

"THE troops, fanned out all over the city, once he makes his presences known to us….' She let the suggestion hang in the air and waited to see if she would join her comrade.

**"_Sometimes, I forget why I keep you alive, until moments like this one where you show some degree of cunning. Very well then, I shall wait. After all, defeat is merely the addition of time." _**The Other declared menacingly idyllic.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Co-Author's Notes: 

Yes, that's right, another interlude. We have writer's block for the latest chapter so I decided to work on something else.

Mortified Mind.

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone,

Listen, I'm not sure if this happened to you but the day I posted Chapter Twenty-five (_What was Once Lost_) FanFiction wierded out on us. Some chapters on stories we were trying to read disappeared and when I went to make sure Chapter Twenty-five posted it wasn't there and then it would be there and whatnot. But than, maybe it just happened to us.

Uh, one more thing. For everyone who voted for a sequel (which is currently at the top of my Poll) to this, you will probably be extremely disappointed. We were hoping to play Bioshock 2 before actually finalizing our ideas for the sequel to this story. But since this story is about, maybe, a third of the way done and Bioshock 2 isn't coming out until the middle of next year we probably aren't going start it right after this is done.

However! If you people still want the sequel despite not having a lot of knowledge of the second game we will go with our currant ideas, even though we would rather not. If we wait on the sequel we'll go with the second most voted (currently at the time of this writing: _Halo/Dead Space Crossover_). Let me know what you guys think, alright.

Thank you everyone for your patience,

KTHM

P.S. I am in complete disgust at posting this Interlude so close to Bane's Progeny but this is to tide you over while we work out our writer's block for Chapter Twenty-Six. I'm sorry to say it probably won't see the light of day for a while now. Also, while I'm at it! About Atlas' religious tirade, I'm sorry if it offended anyone. I, myself, am not religious and did not mean anything by it.


	33. Coming Attractions!: Halo: Dead Space

**ATTENTION! EVERYONE, LOOK HERE! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK!**

We apologize but this is not a chapter of _Halo: Rapture_. You see we know exactly what we want in the next chapter, but we're having problems actually writing it. So we decided a break was in order, which is why I wrote this draft chapter for _Halo: Dead Space_.

We hope you enjoy this anyway, and we would appreciate it if you gave us your thoughts. This is just a draft chapter, and it is not finished. This isn't even the entire first chapter, just a part of it. This is also, literally, all we have for this story so if you have any (reasonable) qualms tell us now. I should also probably tell you now that a lot of things from the Dead Space game have been changed to fit the needs of the crossover. Just like we did with the Bioshock plot for _Halo: Rapture_.

And don't worry we aren't going to seriously work on this until _Halo: Rapture _is over and done with.

So, enjoy!

KTHM and A Mortified Mind

P.S. We're going to be playing ODST for a while so don't hold your breath for the next chapter of _Halo: Rapture_. You won't be seeing it anytime soon. Sorry.

___

Halo: Dead Space (Working Title)

Chapter One: New Arrivals

___

_"Isaac, it's me. I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I wish I could just talk to someone...It's all falling apart here; I can't believe what's happening...it's strange...such a little thing..."_

Chief Engineer Isaac Clark stared at the holo-screen before him as it turned to static. Nicole... It had been such a long time, since he had seen his girlfriend, their careers just differed so much that it was difficult to find time together. But this message was just...strange. Just what exactly happened aboard her ship?

"Just how many times are you going to watch that?" He was interrupted from his thoughts by his friend and co-worker Kendra Daniels. A tall, pretty, light brown haired woman who was a real guru at her job. "I guess you really miss her." She turned from looking at Isaac's sitting form to gaze out the still blank viewscreen. "Don't worry; I think we'll be arriving soon. You can look her up once we get there." She looked back at Isaac for a moment before turning back to the computer just beside the main pilot.

The small, cramped Emergency Maintenance Vessel that Isaac and Kendra served aboard was simply called _The Kellion_. The little red and white painted vessel was beat up and only seemed to be running on sheer force of will alone. Truth be told it was actually due to the crew's abilities in their chosen fields that the seemingly centuries old ship survived at all. Suddenly, the ship rocked violently before dropping out of Slipspace and the viewscreens lit up once more. For a moment, the brilliant orange sunlight blinded the crew before the pilot made a small adjustment and turned the ship away from the powerful rays.

Before them was an impressive asteroid field floating just above what was left of Aegis 7's atmosphere. Isaac's gray eyes easily overlooked the sight of the dead planet that had been Glassed during the Great War; it was just one of many. Of course, at one point, the planet had been lush in greenery and had supported a military and scientific research facility on the surface. Or so Isaac had been told, but he had grown up long after the time Earth had been able to colonize habitable worlds. Though, something did catch his eyes, part of the planet seemed...fine. There were parts that had no evidence of Plasma scorching showing vast desert and savannah like regions alongside the no-man's lands.

Isaac broke away from his thoughts when the main pilot muttered something in his native tongue. The Engineer stared curiously at the back of the Sangheili's head before turning away with a shrug. He sounded almost spooked, which was strange for the normally bitter alien. The Sanghieli, simply known as Major Ar'Deeth, did not want to be here at all and thus remained aloof with the crew. He was part of the 'Exchange Program'. Every deep space vessel was required to have one alien personnel on board to ensure no treaties or laws are being broken. However, the Major was not here by choice but instead sent to _The Kellion _for punishment, what the Major had done was not known, but he had a choice between his currant assignment and prison. It should be obvious what he chose.

Clark was once again cut off from his thoughts when the Chief of Security Zach Hammond moved from his consol and to the front of the ship to stand behind the back-up pilot. Hammond was a tall African American man who was very serious about his job. Kendra looked up from her consol just in time to see the Ishimura come into view. "So that's _Ishimura_." She commented as she moved to stand behind the Major. Isaac moved his attentions to where everyone else was focusing on.

"_The CEC Ishimura_. Largest Planetcracker in her class." Hammond corrected with only a glance in the blonde's direction. _The Ishimura _was huge, about the size of the Los Angeles Zone back on Earth. Planetcrackers were a breakthrough idea designed by the CEC to break apart the otherwise useless Glassed planets and get the precious materials from below the scorched surface. This method was considered a godsend to most because metals and other resources that had once been in abundance before the war were now rare and in sparse supply.

This was the ship his girlfriend was serving on as a medical specialist, and it was drifting ominously through the asteroid field. "I don't see any running lights...Try to get a message through." Hammond sent her a quick dirty look before nodding at the Major, who merely gave his copilot a significant look. The human copilot gulped a little nervously at the tension on the bridge before opening a channel.

"_CEC Ishimura _this is the emergency maintenance vessel, _CEC Kellion_, responding to your distress call. Please respond." He stated in a clipped professional voice which clearly told he had relayed messages like this countless times. However, he received no response. He glanced over his shoulder at Hammond, who was technically in charge at the moment but instead received a response from Kendra.

"That's strange; a thousand people aboard you'd think someone would pick up the phone. Than again if their transceiver is on the fritz you'll have to boost the signal." Hammond gave her another look that was meant to remind her of her place but instead seemed to boost Kendra's attitude.

"We know." He looked back at the copilot. "Do it. More." Suddenly static and strange noises came through the communication channel.

"A busted transceiver, like we thought." Kendra is quick to state. "Isaac and I can have it fixed in forty-two hours." Isaac thought her assumption was rather quick but brushed it off, she was usually right in these things.

Hammond nodded and looked at the Major, "Take us in, nice and easy." The Sangheili didn't bother to reply and simply pushed the correct buttons to enable the auto-dock. That's when it all went to hell. _The Kellion _rocked violently and electricity surrounded the ship as the pilots started to lose control of the vessel. "Blast shields!" Hammond yelled as he stumbled and grabbed hold of the seat in front of him to keep himself standing. Isaac was suddenly glad he was already strapped to his seat as the ship seemed to be set on hurling into the Ishimura's hull.

"The magnetic field's too strong! Abort! Abort!" Kendra yelled at the Major who was strangely calm as he tried to get the ship under control.

Hammond was about to object but the Sangheili beat him to it. "Don't tell me my job! I know what I'm doing you royal bitch!" The Major snarled out as he stayed on course and ignored both humans. Out of nowhere the ship shot forward and amazingly made it through the docking bay doors and that was all Isaac saw before the Engineer's vision went black...

___

"_Clark...Clark_...Isaac!" The Engineer's eyes snapped open when a forced smacked into his cheek causing it to sting annoyingly. Isaac coughed and looked up to see who slapped him awake. Captain John Forest stood looking down at him from his very impressive height of 6' 3". His face was stoic but his dark green eyes betrayed his concern for his subordinate. Once he was assured Clark was fine he smoothed out the wrinkles in his blue and gold captain's uniform.

"What's the damage?" He asked as he looked around the bridge area to get a good look at each of the crew members. The Major was sitting at an angle in his chair, so he could look around at the rest of the area; he seemed fine but vaguely annoyed. Kendra was kneeling by the copilot who was lying on the floor with a nasty gash above his left eye while Carmine Jenkins was sitting a little ways away bandaging his own knee. Hammond was standing at a consol and looking over the damage repot the ship's computer was giving to him.

"The biggest damage seems to be to the communication's array and the port booster. Both are non-responsive. The armor has also taken quite a pounding." Hammond reported to his superior without looking back at him. The Captain nodded and looked at Kendra.

"Isaac has a minor concussion from where the circuit panel hit his head and West is going to need stitches and a cast for his broken arm. Everyone else got away with bruises and scratches." She commented as she finished up and stood. "I'm synching everyone's RIG to the ship now...why hasn't anyone shown up to see what happened?" Kendra asked, voicing everyone's silent question.

"I don't know Daniels but I think we should go find out." The Captain answered as he opened the hatch that led out onto the Ishimura's docking bay. Isaac quickly grabbed his helmet and put it on. He waited a few moments for the systems to boot up and synch with the Kellion.

_'Hello Chief Engineer Clark. My scanners indicate massive damage has been done to the Kellion. May I enquire as to what happened?' _Orpheus, Isaac's Simple AI, asked the moment his systems started up.

"There was major damage done to the Ishimura's auto-docker. We got caught in the magnetic field."

_'I see. When do we start repairs?' _

"After we figure out what's going on with the_ Ishimura_."

_'Very well.' _Isaac stood from his seat and followed the rest of the crew off the vessel. The engineer found Kendra first who was standing beside _The Kellion _shaking her head in disbelief. "He didn't damage it, he lost the port booster. Unbelievable!" Disgust coated her voice as she whipped around and marched toward the rest of the crew who were gathered around the door that led to the Flight Lounge. Isaac wisely didn't comment and simply followed her.

"Daniels, get this door open." Captain Forest ordered firmly, effectively cutting off any argument Kendra might have started over the booster. Everyone was more than a little relieved when she simply set about her work with no comment. She hated taking orders. The door slid open to reveal that the Flight Lounge was an absolute disaster zone. Coffee mugs, suitcases, papers, and other miscellaneous objects were scattered hazardously across the floor around the couches. The screens that normally displayed information either read static or were completely blank and through the bulletproof glass that looked into the Security Booth the lights were completely off with only the red emergency light flashing.

"Looks like everyone was trying to pack in a hurry." Kendra murmured as everyone surveyed the area, one of her hands strayed to the holster that held her side-arm.

Hammond nodded in agreement before adding, "And there's no security detail." He was the first to walk into the room while keeping a firm grip on his barttleworn SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle. The Pulse Rifle is one of the first light weight energy based weapons made by humans following the War. Because of the rarity of metal, it is comprised of reinforced plastics designed to take high quantities of heat and fires small shots of concentrated plasma in rapid succession.

Everyone followed Hammond into the room and the Captain gave a brief order for Kendra to open the door that leads to the Tram Station. "It's no good; the door's been locked from security." Upon hearing this, the Captain turned from Kendra to Isaac, who simply nodded and went about the silent order. Clark gingerly stepped around the debris scattered across the room and passed the couches to get to the second smaller door stuffed out of place in the corner that led to the Security Booth.

Luckily, the door opened without a problem the minute Isaac pressed the holo-lock but the sight inside made the man freeze in shock. Blood. It was smeared all over the floor and, in some cases, the walls. "Captain!" Forest whipped his head around to see what had caused the normally quiet man to break his silence. Isaac stepped away from the doorway so his superior could get a good look...and the rest of the crew, for that matter.

"Is that blood?!" West asked in disbelief while gripping his Pulse Rifle tighter.

"Stay where you are. Daniels, keep working. Isaac, take a look at the security consol. Major, help me with this." Everyone quickly moved to follow their Captain's orders without question. Clark carefully stepped into the booth and took a look around before heading to the back and opening the holo-display on the security consol. "No body. I don't think someone can lose this much blood and walk away fine." Isaac heard the Captain mutter to the Major as they looked around the booth for answers.

Luckily, for Isaac, the security consol was still in working order and set about getting a status report on the Ishimura and overriding the security lock. He was quite pleased with himself when the holo-display showed a real-time damage of the ship. His satisfaction didn't last long when he actually processed the report. Everything was a complete mess. "That's not good; the Tram System is a mess. That'll make traveling around the ship that much harder." Jenkins stated from the other side of the glass when he saw the report. Forest looked up from his crouched position and was about to comment when suddenly the main lights shut off and orange Hazard Lights started flashing.

_**"Hazardous organisms detected. Quarantine Initiated." **_A female voice stated matter-of-factly over the ship's speakers.

"Aw hell. You must have tripped the Quarantine when you accessed Security, Isaac. Don't worry; I can get this shut off in a few moments. Just let me get this door open." Suddenly, movement caught Isaac's attention and the sound of a metal vent grating hitting the floor. "What was that?!" The lighting made it difficult to see but Isaac was sure he saw something...

"Something's in the room with you, Jenkins move!" But Forest's call went in vain because the next thing Isaac knew; blood sprayed the glass just in front of him making the Engineer stumble back in shock. "Kendra, get the door open!" Forest ordered as the Major kicked the door that led into the Security Booth in an attempt to help his ship mates. Hammond's Pulse Rifle erupted in the Lounge as he shot whatever was in there with them.

"I'm trying! There, I got it! Let's get the fuck out of here, Hammond!" The minute Kendra announced this the door behind Isaac that led into a Maintenance Hallway opened and the Major quickly ran through it as he un-holstered his Plasma Rifle.

"Clark, let's move!" Forest shouted over the Quarantine alarms and waited for Isaac to go through the door first. Before he could move though something very heavy fell on him from above. He screamed as something bit into his shoulder deeply and tore. Isaac tried to struggle out from whatever had landed on him but a loud 'BANG' rang through the room and something roared in pain and blood splattered the back of Isaac's helmet.

Forest grabbed Clark's uninjured arm and yanked him out from under the vent grating that had, thankfully, separated him from the creature. The Captain, apparently, wasn't willing to waste a second and instead tossed Isaac over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran through the door and down the hall. At the moment, Isaac could care less about his dignity and could only feel the sharp pain in his shoulder where the monster and torn at him. The man managed to glance up and saw a sight that made his stomach twist horribly. A deformed creature that reminded Isaac of a skinned cow jumped into a vent. From what Isaac glimpsed, it had long blade like appendages coming out of what was once probably hands and its stomach was split open from where two smaller arms were coming out. Isaac hadn't gotten a good look at its face, but he really didn't need to.

Suddenly, Isaac was tossed roughly into an elevator while Captain Forest turned and fired a single shot at a retreating monster before stepping into the elevator himself. The Captain pressed the 'down' button and looked down to check on his subordinate when suddenly the closing elevator door were forced open and the two humans got a good look at the creature's deformed face. Its teeth were rotten and overgrown, and they didn't seem to quite fit in it mouth anymore. It had little hair anymore and the rest of its face was only just barely recognizable as human. The thing screamed and roared as it tried to claw its way into the elevator only to be met with the Captain's boot to its face. The doors closed and the elevator started its journey down, deeper into the ship.

Forest holstered his antique pistol and looked down at the shocked engineer. He didn't bother asking if the man was alright and posed a different question instead, "How's your shoulder, Clark?" Isaac tore his gaze away from the elevator doors and looked numbly at the damaged and bloody flesh before looking up at his Captain in disbelief without saying a word. That's when the elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened...

___

_What happened aboard the Ishimura?_

_How did the Chief get a hundred years into the future?_

_Is Cortana going to be in the story?_

_Why is John working with the CEC?_

_What happened to the rest of the crew?_

_Will they make it out okay?_

_Why did the Major seem spooked when he saw Aegis 7?_

All of this and more will be explained in the story...once we get around to actually writing it of course.

Tell us what you think!

KTHM and A Mortified Mind


	34. A Dirge for Sander Cohen

_Hello Readers and welcome to Act Two of Halo: Rapture. _

_I would like to apologize for the wait, but we needed a break from writing. Also, Act Two brings us a new writing style. When I first started to write I wasn't sure whether I should use the first or third person method. I obviously choose the first person style (quite randomly) but now by doing some unrelated writing projects I've come to like writing third person. If you don't like this style, please let us know, and we'll revert back to the first person. _

_Without further ado, here is Act Two. _

_Enjoy!_

-KTHM

___

**Halo: Rapture**

_Act Two: El Dorado Is Burning_

Chapter One: A Dirge for Sander Cohen

___Argo River, Olympus Heights___

The fog was so thick that if it weren't for John's brand new VISR, he wouldn't be able to see his hand in front of his face. He held on tight to his seat as the boat rocked violently as they traveled at a fast pace, he always felt better on solid ground. His eyes flickered over to the green outline of Harvey at the front of the boat who was calmly navigating as he hummed a song that sounded suspiciously like, 'Row, Row Your Boat'. It was a little strange seeing the man in his ODST Recon armor, but he really should have expected it, him being ONI and all.

Apparently, the man had been sent to Rapture with his ODST squad to either capture or assassinate Andrew Ryan. They failed and ended up getting captured instead, except for Harvey, who was an unlisted member of the crew. Unfortunately, he never got a good shot at the man and ended opening a safe house for those who didn't want anything to do with either Ryan, Fontaine or Atlas.

John turned away from the man and looked down to inspect his brand new armor. It was something Harvey and Bittermen had found in Hephaestus (when he had met him the second time there) locked in a crate addressed to him along with other wreckage from the _Dawn_. It was an odd mix of Hayabusa (chest plate), ODST (helmet) and Recon (shoulders) MJOLNIR armor colored in traditional SPARTAN green, black and silver. The combination had been dubbed CHIMERA by the ONI employee who had scrounged it up for him in anticipation that he'd wreck the Mark VI. However, one of the best abilities the armor came with was the cloaking device, he couldn't use it in conjunction with the shields because of the power output that would require, but it was still a nice addition. The armor crate had come with a note telling him that if he survived, he'd be placed with an ODST squad because of the absence of other Spartans, and he'd be promoted.

The boat suddenly turned sharply causing the Chief to tighten his grip on the safety railing effectively making a dent in the metal. He threw a glare at Harvey but the man couldn't see it past the viser, and because he had his back to him. An angry growl from Hecate (pink fur ball of death) and a whale-like groan of annoyance was heard from the Big Daddy crouching at the back of the boat did get the ONI officer's attention. "That wasn't me. Charon, what the hell is your problem?!" Harvey yelled at the Simple AI that was normally in charge of tours on the Argo River surrounding Olympus Heights.

_"Warning! Do not feed the sharks." _Everyone's head snapped down to look in the water, and they could indeed make out dark shapes swimming quickly under the surface but they definitely weren't sharks. Splicers. John's mind flashed to the tram in the Smugglers Hideout back in Neptune's Bounty. _"Careful! Watch for other boats." _The Major, in his brand new Commando armor, whipped his head up, but he couldn't see anything through the thick fog.

"Alright, everyone hang on and grab a weapon. This is gonna be rough." Harvey yelled back as he sped the boat up to a dangerous pace. The Chief stifled a groan as he couldn't wait to be on dry land once again. "Charon, this is a police boat. Doesn't it have weapons of its own?" In response to Harvey's question a chime sounded and several small platforms on the deck slid back and a grenade launcher and 50 caliber Gatling gun were raised up. "Someone, man those guns please! Zee' ya think you can figure out how to work the main weapon? I'm a little too busy to do it myself." Zee' quickly stood from her sitting position with Hecate in her arms and rushed over to the control consol beside Harvey while the Major grabbed the grenade launcher and John the Machine gun Turret.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the boat just beside them as the enemy boat came within shooting range. Just as that happened one of the Shark Splicers jumped on deck and kicked Bittermen before it could realize what its target was. The Big Daddy roared in anger and picked up the considerably smaller creature and tossed it completely out of sight. Nobody heard the splash of it reconnecting with the water. The Chief aimed the turret at the other boat as it came up along side them. They could make out the crazed laughter and yelling from the Splicers that were mostly shrouded in the fog. _"Fun fact: Aerial vehicles are allowed to fly above the Argos River. Tickets for Sky Tour sold in Fort Frolic." _

John tried to ignore that oddly placed message, but it stuck in his head like there was something important he was missing. "Oh boy. Red, six o'clock high!" Harvey shouted when he looked at the radar. The Major spun the grenade turret around and aimed as high as he could. He couldn't see it but he could most certainly hear it, and it was coming up fast.

Suddenly, the Splicers on the enemy boat got their act together and the one manning the turret began to fire wildly. "Duck!" John cried out and dropped down to the deck as grenades started flying around wildly accompanied with crazed cackling from the Splicer. The Major was just barely able to drop in time to dodge the grenade that sailed over his head and hit the water just in beside the boat.

"Ducks? You'd think the grenades would scare them away." Zee' asked as she lifted her head up and looked around in interest, her little pink pet was growling as shaking as it looked wildly around. Harvey forcefully placed his hand on her head and pushed it down as a grenade flew by them.

"Get down!" Harvey yelled as he pulled sharply on the wheel and jerked the boat into a hard turn to dodge a missile coming from the aerial vehicle that they only now realized was a Hornet.

"Why didn't you just say that?" Zee' asked in a lightly miffed voice as she began to fiddle with the controls again. The Major grabbed his own grenade launcher and proceeded to take a few potshots at the Hornet whilst attempting to keep his head down. John, in annoyance, ducked down behind the boat railing and yanked out his brand new Auto-mag pistol. He peeked his head up a little as he went into the zoom mode to take aim. He could just see the red outline of the Splicer on the turret. He took a breath and pulled the trigger, he was not as great a marksman as Linda, but he had managed a killing blow even with Harvey's driving and the boat rocking.

_'Nice shot.' _Cortana stated in his head and the Chief couldn't help a grin of satisfaction as the Splicer fell limply to the deck. In response the Major grew bold and stood a little firmer as he took better aim at the Hornet. Unfortunately, it's difficult for even a professional to destroy an Aerial vehicle with imprecise grenades, so he was having little luck as it seemed the pilot was an ace. Meanwhile, John got back on his turret and started to shoot in the general direction of the driver on the other boat. _"Harvey! The Motion Tracker is picking up more boats in coming. 12 o'clock!" _Cortana yelled as she connected to the Armor's speaker system. It had come as quite a shock to everyone when she first used it through the neural lace back at the _Mikado_.

"I see 'em! Zee', ya got that worked out yet?!" John couldn't help but notice that the more pressure Harvey was under the more his grammar decayed.

"Almost...there!" Suddenly, a string of mortar blasts shot out of the front end of the boat and easily destroyed the incoming boats. "That's _HAIL_ for you!" Zee' chirped happily as she began to direct the blasts. The Chief had managed to puncture a hole in the enemy boat's fuel tank, and he watched it go up in flames with immense satisfaction. John then spun his turret around and began shooting at the Hornet that kept trying to hit them. It was only due to Harvey's driving skills (to Cortana's disbelief) that they hadn't gotten blown up or become Swiss cheese yet.

The Hornet came closer and the two manning the turret could see Splicer riding on the jump seats waving their firearms wildly and shrieking at the top of their lungs. The Major managed to hit one with a grenade causing an explosion enough to kill the Splicer and lightly damage the Hornet. In retaliation, the pilot managed to get a shot right into their boat's mortar system, effectively disabling it.

And that's when the Shark Splicers decided on another attack. Six jumped on deck, Winter Blasts firing at Bittermen enough to disable him for a few moments to allow them to do damage. Unfortunately (for them), with the _HAIL_ cannon destroyed Zee' had nothing better to do than protect the boat from boarding parties. She yanked her brand new Brute Plasma Rifles out of their holsters and began firing on them with deadly precision and Hecate had jumped up and began to chase a Splicer around the deck (with all of her teeth showing) before it fell overboard. While the Shark Splicers were forced to regroup Bittermen had recovered from the ice and was now looking for blood. He punched the closest one causing it to hit the ground before stepped on its head effectively spraying its _ADAM_ eroded brain across the deck. One proceeded to dive back in the water in self-preservation while leaving the other three to fight.

While that was going on, the Major and John were having little luck in hitting the Hornet, and if it wasn't for their brand new shield systems they'd be peppered with bullets by now. "Guys! I don't think we'll be able to take much more of this!" Harvey called to them but with Zee', Hecate and Bittermen fighting back the constant boarding parties and the other two members were busy getting frustrated with the enemy; they could not care less with what Harvey was saying.

Suddenly, out of nowhere another boat came screeching past and hit the side of them at full pace. The force of the impact took out nearly that entire side in a blast of wood splinters and debris and had the added effect of flipping the boat over just as the Hornet shot a missile off. The missile sailed and hit the underside of the boat and caused the boat to be completely ripped apart. No one could survive the blast...

Fortunately, all members of the late boat's crew were encased in special armor designed to take weapons fire and grenade shrapnel. Added to that, one was a Big Daddy, the other a superhuman, an ONI officer that gone under questionable procedures in the past, and two incredibly tough aliens they obviously survived with little damage done.

___

Harvey had been thrown quite a bit forward in the explosion and hit face first into the River water. It was only a matter to swim the rest of the way, he was far ahead of the Shark Splicers and didn't bother to worry about them all that much. As it was, he made it without further incident to the Olympus Heights dock just a few blocks from Ryan's Penthouse.

It was a few moments later when Zee' and the Major arrived 'merrily' kicking along, hanging onto a piece of debris from the boat with Hecate sitting on the plank dry as can be. The four sat in relative comfortable silence as they waited quite a bit longer for the Chief and Bittermen to arrive. They hadn't been fortunate enough to swim, both far too heavy to float or swim, so they had found themselves literally walking on the river floor to shore. John was glad his suit carried ninety minutes of air and for his Zero-G training. He was doubly glad Cortana had the foresight to deactivate his Shields before he hit the River surface otherwise it would have shorted out because of the water. Though the Chief was able to see a rare occurrence in Marine life, salt and fresh water mingling.

On the river bed, it was clear ocean water, probably linking in from the outside because of the damaged irrigation system. Above the salt water was freshwater, the two sandwiched together but never mixing. _'It's because the salt water is heavier and denser than the fresh water.' _Cortana told him as he looked around in amazement. He nearly jumped in shock when a shark or dolphin like creature swam lazily by him. It looked vaguely curious by his presence but didn't bother him in anyway. That's when he got caught and tangled in the first of many to come seaweed plants...

When Bittermen and John finally broke surface the two were covered from head to toe in seaweed, and they were dripping water. Harvey tired to hold back his laughter, which ended up coming out as snickers as he vocally compared the two to the monster from the black lagoon. The two Sangheili just stared in amazement. "It's hardly our fault, there's a damned seaweed forest at the bottom of a _river_!" Bittermen groaned in agreement as he fought to remove the plants from himself. Before the Chief could summon a retort, the familiar whine of the Hornets engines could be heard coming back around for another sweep.

'_Chief, it's on a search and destroy pattern. I recommend we get off the beach and stay off the streets as much as possible. I'll work out a route with Conviction and Charlemagne. Oh, by the way, I have most of the Pneumo network system mapped out in this area, so we don't have to worry about supplies… for awhile anyway.'_

The Chief nodded and stood up, brushing off the last of the seaweed. 'Cortana, suit status? Are we green?'

'_One hundred percent, Chief, this variant is far more sophisticated than I had previously thought. Charging your shields-'_

Suddenly, Harvey spoke up, a vague glance in the Chief's direction. "This part of Rapture is controlled by some of the most intelligent, cunning and violent Splicers gangs around. Not the typical Spliced up strung out junkies you've come across. These Splicers are well organized and well armed. Also, it's a long way to where we have to go, and I don't want to fight every inch of the way. So we're going to stick to the back ways for now and stealth our way there. Let's move it people!" The Lieutenant barked like a true officer and made gestures for everyone to go first.

"Yes, Sir." John gave a salute to Harvey as he passed the man and un-holstered the brand new suppressed Assault Rifle/Grenade launcher and held it at ready. The others responded in kind, and they quickly made for the buildings passed the boardwalk.

"Bittermen, take point. We'll follow a bit behind." The Big Daddy groaned and ran ahead at a surprising pace. Harvey looked over at the other three from behind his helmet. "I can see everything, he does. If there's a problem I'll know ahead of time. Master Chief, why don't you activate your new Camouflage and head into the buildings. They're close enough together that you can cross over each time you get to the end of one. Red, take to the rooftops, we'll need your reports from on high. Zee' and your fur ball of death will be sticking with me down here in the streets. Everyone got that, well get moving!" Everyone snapped to work.

___

While John wasn't entirely sure why Harvey wanted him to go through the apartment buildings (the very expensive Apartment buildings) he was finding it surprisingly easy to find his way through the maze. _'He probably wants you to make sure no one can sneak up behind Major Ar'Deeth. It would suck for his head's up in the sky to be shot in the back.' _Cortana told John easily so he cold focus on keeping up with everyone.

Suddenly, gentle piano music drifted down the hall accompanied by a female voice that could probably break glass with her high notes. Feeling a sense of foreboding, started to follow the music. _'John, I don't think...'_

Ignoring the voice in his head he opened a communication channel with Harvey, "There's something I'm going to check out. Maybe nothing but I think it might be someone with whom I need to settle a score." He didn't wait for the Lieutenant's answer and instead picked up the pace until he was standing in front of an apartment door that was marked: S. Cohen. Forgoing knocking, he pushed the door open and walked into the expensive apartment whilst deactivating his camouflage. In the foyer of the apartment stood two dancers ballroom dancing and the female singer on the piano.

_"I hear your wings flapping in my home ... flip flap flip flap flip flap. Come into the light, little moth, come in." _There was a small pause before Cohen continued. _"I see you're still testing your wings, little moth. Stay and enjoy the dance if you wish ... but don't dare rattle their rhythm!"_ He finished with venom, and he cut the communication. Frowning, John looked around the apartment. He was standing on a part of a foyer that was slightly more elevated than the improved dance floor. To his left was a damaged and slightly burning dinging room and library.

He refocused his attention on the dancers and froze in shock. The only man of the three had dynamite tied around his chest and ankles, and he was shaking lightly in fear while his mouth was sewn shut_. 'John, on the piano.' _Cortana murmured in answer to his unasked question. At her beckoning he found the detonator sitting where the music sheet would typically lie. With a plan in mind to get Cohen out of his hiding place and possibly saved the captive man he went into the decayed dinning room and made his way into the blazing library which sat adjacent to the dance floor.

Now he was not only at a better angle but also closer the piano. The singer had her back to him and wouldn't see him coming right away. Activating his camouflage he skirted the dancers and got behind the singer. Without a sound, he reached and snatched the detonator and, following Cortana's direction, removed the correct cords before anyone knew what was happening.

The singer screeched in anger, and if it wasn't for Cortana filtering out the noise it would have destroyed his ear drums. He shot her with his Assault Rifle before she could react as Cortana deactivated his camouflage and powered up his shields. Just in time too because the female dancer had broken off with her unwilling partner and threw a fire ball in John's direction. It splashed against his shields, but they luckily held. _"WHEN will you learn to take instruction!? I'm coming down there, little moth! Coming down to teach you to dance!"_ Cohen yelled angrily through the comm. channel just as John dodged another fireball.

The man had dropped down low and was crawling away to get to cover when the door to the stairs opened and Cohen appeared. Without so much as a thought, Cohen threw fire at him and the man screamed in pain as the flames engulfed him. So much for saving him.

John switched to the grenade launcher setting and fired a precise shot at the female Splicer. She didn't have time to dodge and ended up getting caught in the explosion. With her out of the way he focused his attention on Cohen, who looked just as he had in Fort Frolic. Frayed suit, dirt and everything. "I was asked to give you a message from Rodriguez. He says he'll see you in hell." Cohen growled angrily and threw stream after stream of fire at him.

The Chief rolled out of the way and fired a grenade in retaliation. However, Cohen saw it and shot it out of the air sending fragments everywhere. The Chief ducked into the hall way leading towards the dinning room. Peeking out from his cover, the Chief saw Cohen disappeared in a flash of blood red dust.

'_Chief, I got movement, by the Bookcase. No wait the desk….CHIEF! Down the hall!'_ The Chief saw the red distortion wave appear inside the dark kitchen, quickly followed by a fast unrestrained stream of fireballs. Three of the flaming projectiles hit him right in the chest as he dived out of the way and took cover behind the center column of the foyer.

___

"Now I wonder where my little moth did go. Fluttering around my home, afraid of flame that draws him so." Cohen reappeared behind the column ready to strike, only to find it vacant. Cohen licked his lips in anticipation. _'This little moth was giving quite a show; perhaps I should paint him his portrait again. No, better still, a sculpture. It's been so long since something new adorned my humble abode.' _Cohen's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of the door leading to his bedroom slide open.

"NO! NO!! NO!!! IT'S NOT FINNISHED YET!!!" Cohen shrieked and quickly teleported into his room…yet nothing was amiss. The royal purple sateen sheets of his bed remained immaculate, his audience forever frozen in plaster still in place, the various art supplies and tools strewn about the room undisturbed. However, something was wrong, he could feel it. Then he saw the mural. All along the glass window that separated the vast ocean from crashing in was a much larger version of the one Cohen had painted in his domain of Fort Frolic.

Cohen moved his fingers over the smooth texture of the glass and the slightly sticky roughness of the paint above it. Moving his hand over the cherubs of his former disciples and over the Chief's bloodied form. When Cohen became distracted by a rather insignificant smudge on the fiery crown, the Chief slowly stepped out from behind the statue of a man holding towels closest to the bathroom and readied a Plasma grenade.

___

When Cohen had teleported away Cortana used the armor's sensors to track him. John reloaded the grenade launcher and easily dispatched the three Splicers that had teleported into the kitchen. _'Upstairs, in probably his bedroom.'_ The Chief hummed in response as he reloaded the Assault Rifle absently and located the door Cohen had previously used to come downstairs.

Of course the Spartan found it locked but that was easily taken care of by a simple kick to the fancy wood making it splinter and brake. He vaguely watched it fall to the ground before he walked up the stairs quietly, using his camouflage. He found Cohen starring intently at a larger version of the painting of himself from Fort Frolic, John hid behind the statue of man holding towels and thought up a plan. He stepped slowly out from behind the statue and readied a Plasma Grenade.

_'Chief, I'd advise caution.'_

'You don't think the window could withstand the force of the blast?'

'_No, there is a small but powerful force field outside the window. However, I'd be sure you kill him with that. He might not like having his suit ruined.'_ She replied cheekily. The Chief said nothing and slowly moved forward.

Cohen creased his brow in intense concentration completely forgetting his 'House guest' as John snuck up behind him. Without any further delay, he deactivated his cloak, charged up his shield and activated the grenade before he tossed it just between Cohen's shoulder blades. He screamed in shock just before the grenade exploded.

He exploded in a cloud of red mist before reappearing in front of John and tackling him to the ground. The Chief could see third degree burns all over Cohen's body as his hands lit in a blue blaze and almost immediately overloaded his shields. Before John could react or Cohen do any more damage, they heard the tell-tale sound of an Energy Sword being activated and the sound of it tearing apart flesh. All Cohen could do was gasp in shock before the fire disappeared and his limp corpse was tossed away.

"If I knew you were dealing with this cur I would have come sooner." The Major said as he looked down at the Chief's fallen body. The Spartan grunted in annoyance, and he pushed himself up off of the floor. "You should have elaborated." The Major said as he deactivated the Energy Sword.

"I wasn't sure it was him... What are you doing here?" John watched as his shields flared up with a flash of gold as he waited for the Major's reply.

"When you ran off with a half-asked excuse, Harvey sent me to come after you, and he asked me to..." The Major drew back his fist and punched John as hard as he could. His shields took most of the punch, but it still knocked him backwards. "You caused quite the delay and now the other two (and Zee's pet) are hiding out in the streets. Let's go before you cause more trouble!"

"_I wouldn't depart just yet Sahib, there may yet be something useful."_ A familiar voice stated through both of their armor's speaker system.

"Swami? What are you doing here?" John wasn't sure to be please or annoyed at the fortune teller.

'_A better question is how he got here.' _Cortana muttered under her breath. If John didn't know better he'd say she had a jealousy for any AI he met.

"_How I came to be here is not important, as for why, I am here to warn you. There is something… simply called the Other, and it is searching for you. This Other, has Atlas so worried he has delayed his departure for Earth and has fought him to a standstill throughout most of Rapture." _The Chief could almost picture Swami's avatar looking deeply into his crystal ball.

"And….?"

"_Its base of operations is here, in Olympus Heights... By the way, the spare key to Ryan's Penthouse is in a box in the safe behind the bunny mask above the headboard. Good day to you Sahib."_ And the communication was cut.

The Chief looked over for the Major's opinion, but he found the red armored Sangheili removing the bunny mask above Cohen's bed. Behind it was a silver wall safe that looked like it could withstand quite the explosion. _'John, put your hand on the safe.' _Cortana instructed and the Spartan did as he was told. The second his palm rested on (what he could now tell) faux silver, there was a flash of gold and violet before the safe gave off a cheery 'ding' sound and the door swung open lazily. Inside was a box layered with purple velvet and in it sat three Audio Diaries and a small genetic key card.

John picked up the key and placed it safely in one of his armor's compartments before he inserted the Audio Diaries, one after the other.

___

"_Rapture's going to hell, and why? Because of them... always behind the scenes. At the Lyceum, at the galleries in SoHo, even down here, in this so-called-Utopia. The Doubters. But Ryan understands. We're simpatico... Yes, there's blood in the streets. Yes, people sometimes... disappear. And those awful little girls... Well, I suppose the Doubters think you can paint a picture without soiling your smock…"_

___

"_The Wild Bunny by Sander Cohen: I want to take the ears off, but I can't. I hop, and when I hop, I never get off the ground. It's my curse, my eternal curse! I want to take the ears off but I can't! It's my curse! It's my fucking curse! I want to take the ears off! Please! Take them off! Please!"_

___

"_I could have been the toast of Broadway, the talk of Hollywood. But, instead, I followed you to this soggy bucket. When you needed my star light, I illuminated you. But now I rot, waiting for an audience that doesn't... ever... come... I'm writing something for you, Andrew Ryan...it's a requiem."_

___

John grimaced in distaste and Cortana muttered something he pretended not to catch. Suddenly, his comm. line opened and Harvey's voice came through the speakers. _"Master Chief, get out here quick." _

___**END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**___

Author's Notes:

Dear Readers,

I would first like it to be noted that the idea of Harvey being an ODST was thought of long before _Halo 3: ODST _came out; it is only just now that we've been able to introduce that.

Also, once again, I would like to apologize for the wait but we not only needed a break, but we've been playing _ODST_, preparing for our oldest brother's imminent visit for Thanksgiving, and our dad decided to commandeer our computer for his work. He's finished and now we have the computer back. So, hooray!

Mortified Mind only wrote the bit with Cohen in his bedroom and has decided he has no right to have an Author's note. Personally, I think he is just being lazy. He would like to say, however, that whoever remembers who Hecate is, gets an imaginary cookie.

As you can see, we took the cheap way out of doing the meeting in the hideout, but we will have flashbacks and conversations in the next chapter depicting what took place in the Mikado. We didn't this chapter because we just wanted to get it out and post it for those faithful few who are keeping up this story.

Thank you once again for your patience,

KTHM

P.S. November 15th was Halo: Rapture's one year anniversary. So, happy belated anniversary!


	35. The Shroud of Silhouette

Halo: Rapture

_Act Two: El Dorado Is Burning_

Chapter Two: The Shroud of Silhouette 

___Flashback___

_"Uncle John will you tell us a story?" John looked down at the blond haired child sitting across from him in the mess hall. Because the other tables were otherwise occupied, he had been forced to sit at the 'kid table', much to Harvey and Victor McDonagh's amusement. Now, he found himself sitting with his nephews (Anna's twin boys) and some of the other rescued children. _

_Alexander Ryan-Hewlett was the youngest of his nephews. The blond haired, hazel eyed boy had been fortunate enough to escape becoming a Little Brother but the problem was no one was sure what had happened to the boy. Just like his elder twin he had been kidnapped to be taken to Point Prometheus but had never quite gotten there. Several months later Harvey had found Alex sleeping soundly in Atlas' Headquarters located in Fontaine's House for the Poor. _

_Dr. Harrison reported that Alex was in full health except for gaps in his memory that were completely unexplainable. _

_John blinked at the boy before answering, "What kind of story?" Suddenly his bag of chips was snatched from his tray. The Spartan turned and frowned at the boy sitting next to him but said nothing to his other nephew who happened to be none-other than the Little Brother he had rescued in Hephaestus. _

_Sean, Alex's twin, was in the process of being deprogrammed by Tenenbaum and Harrison and was slowly healing from the brainwashing that had been done to him. The boy didn't speak much anymore and had taken to following Alex around. _

_"Don't you have a war story? Papa Hatter has lots of 'em." Alex asked as he took a chip that Sean had offered him from across the table. 'Mad Hatter' was the nickname Tenenbaum had bestowed upon Harvey and the children had picked up on it but Alex and Sean had been calling their soon to be step-father Papa for months. _

_"I'm sure he does." John truly did not doubt that the ONI officer had stories to tell, but he wondered how many of the ones he told were true or unaltered. The Chief briefly searched his memory for a story suitable for his young nephews and the other children at the table who were eagerly waiting for his response. _

___End Flashback___

___Present___

___Artemis District, Olympus Heights___

Harvey blew out a puff of air in annoyance as the Chief cut off the communication channel before he reactivated his comm. "Red, the Master Chief ran off, could you go find him and knock some sense into him. He should be somewhere in the apartment building below you." He paused to wait for the alien's reply.

There was a brief growl of annoyance over the channel before the Major spoke_, 'Affirmative.' _Harvey shook his head before glancing around the alley, he and Zee' were standing in. They couldn't stay out in the open.

He walked over to a large green garbage bin and opened the lid. "Hop in, we can't stay out here." Harvey watched her give a look of disgust, but she said nothing as she took Hecate from her perch on Zee's head and held her close as she climbed in the garbage can. "At least it's your color." The Lieutenant chirped as he jumped in after her. She gave him a dirty look as he closed the lid over them.

They sat in silence for a few moments before they heard footsteps and hushed talking. Both hidden forms froze and held their breath as they listened and hoped they wouldn't be discovered. Harvey held his shotgun just a bit closer while Zee' put her best efforts in keeping Hecate calm.

"The scouts say he's in the area. Atlas' thugs tried to take care of him, but he slipped away clean."

"What about the others? Silhouette wants them dead." Harvey had heard enough, his suspicions confirmed, and held up three fingers for Zee' to see. She nodded in understanding and readied a Plasma Rifle.

He slowly put one finger down after the other as the two Splicers outside the dumpster talked away in merry ignorance. "Edgar swears they entered this alley-" At the end of the countdown Harvey tossed the lid of the dumpster off and Hecate practically flew out of their hiding place and tore out one of the Splicer's necks. Blood splattered everywhere as his artery was ripped open accompanied by a shotgun blast to the other Splicer's head.

Without bothering to pause, Harvey grabbed Zee's wrist and pulled her with him into the nearest apartment building. "Bittermen's on his way back but we're not in the clear yet!" Harvey called to Zee' as they locked and barricaded the door behind them. The Lieutenant reloaded his shotgun quickly and looked up and down the hall.

Everything was quiet and there wasn't a Splicer in sight. Both knew that wouldn't last once word got out where they were. Suddenly there was thundering on the floor above them that seemed to move towards the stairs down to Harvey and Zee' level and at the very end of the hall the elevator gave off a noise indicating it was in use.

Harvey looked around for a place to take cover, but they were surrounded and the icing on the cake was when Splicers began to pound on the barricade. The Lieutenant could see on his HUD that Bittermen was being accosted by groups of Splicers on his way back to them and that the drugged up lunatics were hindering the Big Daddy's return.

Zee' and Harvey ran in the opposite direction of the elevator and the barricade but closer to the stairs. As they ran Harvey opened his comm. channel, "Chief, get out here quick!" He cut off the communication just as they were passing a door labeled: A. Culpepper. Without a thought, he pulled Zee' into the upscale apartment and locked the door behind them.

Culpepper's apartment was, to say the least, trashed. To say the most, it looked like the aftermath of a force 5 Hurricane. There were holes in the walls and ceilings, once expensive furniture was broken and tossed about, papers and clothes everywhere. Unfortunately, the three of them couldn't stop to admire the damage and instead made a break for the upstairs of the apartment suite.

No one had tried to force their way inside so the Zee' and Harvey figured the Splicers had lost them when they had entered the apartment but the two were sure they'd start going door to door soon in search for them. The three ended up in Culpepper's bedroom when they saw a large hole in the ceiling just above Culpepper's bed.

Harvey was handed Hecate as Zee' stood up on the bed and reached up for the hole. The tips of her fingers just brushed the wooden splinters at the rim of the hole when the apartment door burst open. "Fan out and search for them! Edgar thinks they're here."

In a desperate effort, Zee' jumped and managed to grab hold of the edge and struggled to swing herself up. The minute she did, Harvey practically threw Hecate up to her as he climbed onto the bed and waited for Zee' assistance. They could hear the Splicers on the stairs now.

Zee' grabbed Harvey's outstretched hand and hoisted him up. The minute he was through the hole the door to the bedroom burst open and the three held their breath as they stood completely still in hopes that they wouldn't notice.

It seemed like hours before the Splicers signaled an all clear and left the room to search elsewhere. Without a sound, the three moved away from the hole and the living room of the apartment they had climbed into.

_'Harvey, where are you guys? We're on the roof and Splicers are surrounding the entire building and practically flooding the alley you guys were in.'_ It was Cortana's voice that sounded through their radios, she sounded worried.

___

"Do you think they noticed us?" The Chief whispered as he lay on his stomach in an attempt to go unnoticed by the Splicers on the ground and the Snipers in the neighboring buildings. This had been a trap; someone knew they'd be coming here.

The Major, who was similarly flat against the rooftop, shrugged his shoulders the best he could before carefully extracting his Beam Rifle from his back holster. The Sangheili inched his way over to the solid three foot concrete railing that was their only cover for their poorly hidden forms. He peeked up and took a cautious look around. The Splicers were everywhere and there wasn't a hint of Zee', Harvey or Hecate insight.

"Cortana says Harvey and Zee' are below us and are going to make their way up here. We'll figure out a plan once they get here." The minute those words left the Chief's mouth, they heard the tell-tale whine of the Hornet's engines coming closer to their location.

___

"So, how do you plan to make it up the rest of the way to the roof?" Zee' asked as Cortana cut off the communication.

Harvey shrugged. "Improvise." He answered casually as he checked his shotgun.

"That's comforting."

"If we stick to apartments, we'll be fine, we'll have cover and there are only so many Splicers they can fit in them. Between the two of us and the little pink death ball we should be fine. Now, let's get moving before they figure out where we are." Harvey pumped the shotgun and made a gesture for her to head up the apartment stairs.

When they made it to the Master Bedroom they weren't as lucky as before. The ceiling was intact and any furniture worth standing on were either destroyed or looked like they would fall apart at any moment. "We have two options. I can blow a hole in the ceiling but that would alert the Splicers to our presence or we can climb out the window and use the fire-escape to get to the roof but the Splicers outside will notice us in an instant. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if they have snipers posted in neighboring windows."

Zee' knew she hadn't much time to think of a decision as she looked between the ceiling and the window. "...I think we should try the fire-escape. I don't think we'll be able to reach the ceiling this time." Harvey nodded and began to pry open the nailed shut window.

The minute he got it open he climbed through first and proceeded to run up the rusted fire-escape stairs with Zee' and Hecate close behind him. The minute they were in view the Splicers crowding the street began to point and yell at them. Some sent off various Plasmid attacks and imprecise weapons fire but what really worried them was the spot-on sniper fire from the other buildings in view.

The three's only saving grace was when return sniper fire was fired from their own rooftop, taking out the enemy snipers. It could only be Ar'Deeth and the Chief. _'Thank you for bringing them out of cover. You make excellent decoys.' _The Major told them cheerfully over their radios but the two were too busy avoiding fire.

They had gone up two floors before things got too hot and Harvey pried open a new window and the three tumbled into the room. Harvey took one look around and realized where he was. "We're in Tenenbaum's apartment...there's something I gotta check out." He stood up and made his way out of the bedroom they had tumbled in. Without too much trouble he located her study and walked in.

The place had obviously been tossed but Harvey had expected as much. The minute Tenenbaum had fled Point Prometheus Fontaine, or rather Atlas, had seized all of Tenenbaum's funds and took all her research. That was, of course, before Atlas' orchestrated Fontaine's death...even though Fontaine never really existed...Harvey tired not to think about it all that much.

Harvey looked through the books and papers that had been scattered carelessly on the floor as he muttered to himself words Zee' didn't understand. "What are we looking for?" She asked as she picked up Hecate and looked around uneasily.

The Lieutenant didn't answer as he continued his search before he suddenly froze and looked at some pieces of a torn up paper. "Lamb...I knew it..." Harvey didn't get to say anymore because the entire building suddenly shook and the sound of explosions and Hornet engines were too close for comfort. "The Hornet's back. Let's get going." Before Zee' could reply, Harvey had taken out an old fashioned lighter from one of his armor's compartments and burned the paper he had been looking at.

Without anymore of a pause he stood up on the desk that had been built into the wall and placed a timed mine on the ceiling before jumping off and placing his hands over his head.

After the small explosion and after the dust cleared away there was a hole in the ceiling big enough for the three to go through. It was around that time that Splicer began to bang against the apartment door in an attempt to get it open.

___

The Master Chief and the Major found themselves suddenly very glad for their brand new armor and shield systems as shrapnel from the explosion exploded around them. The Hornet's rockets had missed them by only a few inches and had collapsed the stairs that led to the roof, effectively trapping the two and preventing their backup from making it up to them.

John switched to his suppressed SMG to its grenade launcher setting as his mind attempted to come up with a plan with little success. "Any ideas!"

"Plenty, but none that will help us!" The Major called over the noise as the Hornet came back around for another sweep.

___

_'They collapsed the stairs to the roof.' _Cortana told them in an increasingly worried voice as the situation became more helpless.

"Don't worry about it! We'll find another way up. I've got a plan; just tell your boyfriend and Red to hold on!" Harvey called as he shot another Splicer. The two had been ambushed in the late Constable Sullivan's apartment.

_'Alri-HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!' _Harvey couldn't help but smirk despite the situation at Cortana's obvious embarrassment.

"Whatever you say, just tell them to hang on, we're almost there." He shot another Splicer before ducking down behind the upturned couch he was taking cover behind. Zee' was a few feet away behind the upturned dining room table.

"Zee', tactical retreat!" He tossed a grenade to cover their fallback as they made their way into the bedroom and pushed the bed and dresser in front of the door.

"What do we do?" Zee' asked as she cuddled Hecate closer with her free arm. The pink fur ball had been stabbed by a Splicer it had attacked just before she killed him. Zee' had patched her up the best she could but the little thing was out of the game.

Harvey reloaded as he took in a deep breath. "I'm gonna throw several grenades, and while they're distracted we'll run like hell. Once we're on the roof I've gotta plan to get out of here." She nodded in understanding. Harvey looked around and found a book bag sitting forlornly at the bottom of the open closet. The bag had obviously belonged to female judging by the flowery pattern on the denim. Probably belonging to the late Mrs. Sullivan.

He picked up the bag and instructed Zee' to put Hecate in it for now before Harvey placed it securely over his shoulder. As Harvey readied his grenades and shotguns Zee' caught sight of a picture that she couldn't help but pick up.

It displayed the picture of a slim blue haired girl about five or six-ish sitting on the shoulders of a man that was probably her father as she proudly held up an award that said: 1st Place, Track and Field. Something bothered her about the picture in the back of her mind so when Harvey proclaimed he was ready she pocketed the picture and nodded to the human Lieutenant.

Zee' shoved the barricade out of the way as Harvey shoved the door open and tossed grenade after grenade into the room beyond. They were a combination of Flashbang, Smoke and Shrapnel. The two didn't wait for the Splicers to recover and took off down the hall and made their way to the elevator shaft at the end of the corridor.

The two pulled the elevator doors apart and Harvey gestured for Zee' to go first. She jumped and grabbed the ropes that normally sent the elevator up and down and began to climb up it. Harvey ducked as a fireball sailed passed him before he jumped and grabbed the ropes and yanked out his combat knife and began to cut through the counterweight.

The ropes cut and the rope the two were hanging onto pulled them up at a fast pace and away from the recovering Splicers. They were at the top floor in no time and Zee' tossed one of Harvey's timed mines over to the elevator doors and waited for it to explode.

The minute the doors exploded Electro Bolts sailed into the elevator shaft. Harvey had been ready and managed to fire his shotgun single handed. The kickback made the ropes swing, but it gave Zee' the momentum to jump out of the shaft and into the corridor.

By the time Harvey and Hecate climbed into the corridor it was covered in Plasma burns and several fresh Splicer corpses were on the floor. "Nice job, let's get moving." Harvey led her to the nearest window and pried it open.

"The fire-escape again?" Zee' groaned in disappointment as Harvey nodded in acknowledgement.

"It's the only way to the roof. Get goin'." Despite her reservations she climbed out the window and got onto the fire-escape. Almost immediately they were under fire.

It was only when she was on the rusted platform that she realized there was no way up. Harvey didn't seem to be discouraged as he stood beside her. _'What's your amazing plan?' _Cortana asked over the radio.

"Bittermen managed to get out of the area and has the Hornet's apparent flight plan mapped out. It'll pass just over our heads." Harvey said to whoever of his allies that were listening in. "Get ready."

"For what?!" Zee' yelled over the whine of the Hornet's engines as it came around for another pass.

It fired its rockets and machine gun simultaneously as it once again tried to hit the Major and the Chief. The rockets blew a good chunk of the roof up but the two had already taken cover behind some rubble from previous explosions. Unfortunately, if the aircraft passed over their heads they would be exposed.

As the Hornet passed above the two on the fire-escape Harvey jumped and grabbed the empty jump seat. He swung himself up and placed a mine on the reinforced cockpit glass. The pilot screamed as Harvey turned his back to the explosion and made himself as small as possible.

The explosion shattered the glass and killed the pilot instantly. As the Hornet started to go down, Harvey jumped into the now open cockpit and took control of the aircraft. The thing was in bad shape but still luckily flyable, for the moment.

He landed the Hornet on what was left of the roof and climbed out of the pilot's seat for the Major to take over. In a few minutes, they were off for their intended destination of Ryan Manor with Zee' and Harvey sharing a jump seat and the Master Chief shooting grenades in retaliation for enemy ground fire.

___Flashback___

_"Mama's not coming back?" Three year old John Ryan was still attempting to wrap his mind around that simple fact as he looked up at his father. His father always had a way to make things better. _

_A sigh escaped Andrew Ryan's lips as he shook his head, "No, I'm sorry Ivan. The...bad men took her away." Goodness, he could take on all manners of politics and run a corporation that spanned over UNSC controlled space but he couldn't adequately explain to his son that his mother was dead. Especially since he had yet to get over that very fact himself. _

_John stared up at the man with the green eyes he inherited from his mother. "Where'd they take her?" He asked with innocence only a child possessed. _

_His father frowned in thought as he thought of a good way to answer the three year old without upsetting the boy too much. "To heaven, Ivan." He wasn't religious and he didn't believe in such nonsense but it was a reply that could possibly comfort his son. _

_It was John's turn to frown in thought. "Where's that and how come we can't see her?" _

_There was a pause before Ryan answered, "No one is entirely sure. That's why we can't see her." He nearly grimaced at his response but managed to keep his composure. That answer was ridiculous and sounded incredibly cheap. Nonetheless, it seemed to satisfy the boy for he was quiet for a short period. _

_The quiet didn't last long because John seemed to have come up with another question, "Will we ever be able to see her again?" He looked up at his father who had caught sight of an old acquaintance and had only half heard the question. _

_"One day...I'll get there before you if I have anything to say about it." He replied distractedly as he got his friend's attention and gestured him over. Ryan's un-thought-out reply made tears come to John's eyes. Normally it was incredibly difficult to make the boy cry, but it seemed that sentence had been the last straw. Why would his father want to see his mother without him? Did they not want him around? Was that why she left? _

_A crying boy in a graveyard wasn't an unusual sight so no one took notice to the brunette child's pain. Ryan heard the sniffle and glanced down at his son. In an awkward attempt to comfort John, he took the boy's hand and led him over to where his friend was standing. Vaguely, John recognized him as the man who occasionally came to their house to have a long talk with his father, Mr. Sullivan. The man was wearing a soldier's dress uniform, any other time John would have asked what all the colorful pins were for. Now, he just didn't care. _

_"I'm so sorry. By the time I got there, they were already starting to execute the hostages. It was a mess." Mr. Sullivan gave John a quick glance as he realized he was hiding behind his father's leg. He wouldn't have used those exact words if he had known. _

_"I'm sure you did the best you could. I'm just glad the kids were at school and hadn't been with her." Kids? He must have been talking about him and Anna, his new sister. Mama hadn't been pleased with father when she found out about Anna, and she had to come live with them but John's Mama had been nothing but kind to her. She treated Anna like she treated John. The boy was just never sure why she was angry with father and why she didn't like Ms. McClintock, Anna's mother. "Did any of the Rebels live?" John refocused on the conversation at the sound of his father's voice. _

_Mr. Sullivan's face took on a slightly vindictive look. "None that can talk." Not liking where this was going, John turned away and set eyes on his new little sister who was standing by his Mama's grave placing flowers she had picked herself on the loose dirt. _

___End Flashback___

___Present___

___Zeus District, Olympus Heights___

John groaned in slight pain and climbed out of the Hornet's wreckage. None of them had expected the craft to last for long, but it had at least got them away from the Splicer hoard and closer to their destination. "Why is it that every vehicle you get into inevitably becomes destroyed?" The Major asked rhetorically as he climbed out of the wrecked Hornet followed shortly by the others.

Zee' was the one to reply to her adopted brother, "Your uncle was the same way, which is why you never let him near your aircrafts...oh now it makes sense."

_"What makes sense?" _Cortana asked through the armor's speakers.

"Both the Chief's and Uncle Thel's combined curse with vehicles explains the destruction of the two Rings and the Ark. Not even the Forerunners could fight against something so powerful." John threw a pebble at her but had no reply to her statement.

"Come on guys we still have work to do." Harvey said as he brushed off his Recon armor, effectively breaking the conversation. "And Master Chief, activate your camo, you were those Splicer's main target. If they don't see you than they won't attack in full force again." John frowned at the man.

"All of those Splicers? That's overkill don't you think?"

"Hmm. Well, perhaps this 'Silhouette' is aware of what you are capable of. It's not overkill, more cautious if you look at it in that respect." The other nodded and Harvey set off for Ryan Manor with the others following closely.

Zeus District of Olympus Heights was far different from the other districts in that all of the few building were truly manors for the rich and powerful of Rapture. There was Ryan Manor, Sinclair Manor, Fontaine Manor, Lamb Manor and a few others that Harvey hadn't bothered to point out as they walked.

The Lieutenant quickly led them to Ryan Manor where the others realized Bittermen was waiting by the grand double doors. "Did ya get access?" Harvey asked the Big Daddy as they approached, he glanced over his shoulder for any sign of Splicers. Getting the point, Zee' and the Major took up sentry points.

Bittermen gave a negative moan and Harvey just nodded as if expecting it. "Chief, give it a try. You might just have enough of Ryan's genetic code to gain entrance...use the key you got from Cohen too, it'll help." John frowned as he examined the double doors for any sign of a keypad.

He found a lock but nothing else. With a shrug of his shoulders, he inserted Cohen's spare key and turned. John nearly jumped out of his skin when a laser light hit and examined his form, obviously scanning him. The laser disappeared and the door clicked open obediently.

The group hurried inside and quickly shut the door and listened to the lock slide back into place. No one else was getting in behind them. The foyer was something of a grand sight with bronze and silver finishings with expensive paintings and roman columns lining the large room. In the very center, just in front of the staircase was a large marble fountain. "Alright, Zee', why don't you go find med supplies for Hecate. I'm tired of lugging the fur ball around. Bittermen, stay here and let me know if anything happens. Red, see what you can dig up in Ryan's workshop. Master Chief, you're coming with me." Harvey handed Zee' the book bag Hecate was still sleeping in before they all gave various forms of affirmatives and set off to complete their appointed tasks.

Harvey led John up the stairs and down the left hallway at a quick walk bordering on a jog. "Where are we going?" The Chief asked as he easily kept up with Harvey's pace.

"Ryan's office, we're looking for Atlas' self destruct code. Every Smart AI is built with one and Ryan made Atlas so he would obviously have the code. If we place the code in Atlas' data processing center his program will automatically decompile whether he wants it to or not...and before you ask Anna gave me the layout of the manor so I know where we're headin'." John didn't bother to answer the man as he continued to follow him up another staircase.

Once on the third floor, Harvey made his way to the fourth door on the right and opened the door. Inside was a grand antique oak desk just in front of a vast window that spanned the entire wall that gave a rather breath taking view of Rapture. John could see the forest dome that was Arcadia (which was quite a bit bigger than just the areas he had explored), the giant Fort Frolic building with its many tunnels that seemed to lead to other various parts of Rapture, the volcanic vents surrounding the Hephaestus area. It was rather incredible and John could see why Ry-his father had chosen to have this room be his office.

"The Zeus District is just at the very edge of the Olympus Heights dome and it's elevated so you get a bird's eye view of the area. This way the rich folk that live in the area get their eyes' worth." Harvey said distractedly as he immediately began tossing the desk. "Get the filing cabinets, would ya." John nodded and turned from the view and head to one of the many filing cabinets lining the walls.

It was only now he realized that everything was still neat but covered with dust, indicating no one had been in the Manor for a while. His father must have been living in Hephaestus for quite some time. John used his enhanced speed to quickly skim through all the files while Harvey hacked the computer. Most of the files were financial based or were corporate mumbo-jumbo that John couldn't even begin to understand.

"You made a cute little kid. Boy, did that sure as hell change...this is going to take a while to hack" John's head whipped up to see Harvey had his eyes fixed on the computer screen, but he turned a picture frame on the desk around for John to see. It was a picture of him that had been taken a little while before he was kidnapped...just after...

___Flashback___

_Five, almost six year old John was sitting in his father's office chair reading a book on electrical engineering his father had provided. It was one of those 'take your child to work days' and so far his father had been elusive, only sticking around long enough to tell John to stay put and not get into any trouble. He was then handed the book and Ryan had run off to go to a business meeting. _

_John sighed and rubbed his eyes, he was soooo bored! He wanted to play a game or something. "Hello, you must be John." The five year old looked up in surprise and looked around. To his astonishment, his father's computer had turned on all by itself. The voice that had come from it was computer generated and rather generic. "Mr. Ryan has told me a lot about you. My name is Atlas. It is a pleasure to meet you." It didn't sound that way, the voice gave off no emotion. _

_"Father talks about me? That's surprising." John stated as he focused on the computer screen. It showed a black background with a dark gold circle that had two smaller ovals inside it. It was a lot like the Superintendent that ran the city but Atlas' responses were a lot more sophisticated. _

_"Why is that?" Atlas asked as the two ovals that were his simulated eyes changed shape to give the impression of confusion and curiosity. _

_"Father isn't around enough to have anything about me to talk about." There was a slight bitterness in the boy's voice as he briefly looked away from the screen; he caught sight of his father's journal that had lots of numbers and equations on it that he didn't quite understand. _

_"Your father is a very busy man." Atlas attempted to console but John had heard that excuse plenty of times in the past to be numb to it. _

_"I suppose he hasn't mentioned Anna." It sounds as if the boy already knows the answer to the question he asked. _

_There was a pause while Atlas' color became a slightly lighter shade of gold. "Mr. Ryan once mentioned a daughter by the name of Anastasia...I have a file photo of yourself and a blond girl maybe a little bit younger than yourself. Is that her?" _

_"Yeah. She's the best little sister ever." John replied happily as they got off the subject of his father. _

_"You two do not bear much of a resemblance..." _

_"She's my half sister." He became a little morose at the reminder. _

_"Which half?" _

_"...'_

_"It was an attempt at a joke. Mr. Ryan advised me to, I quote, 'get a sense of humor'. Unfortunately, I do not think it is working out well. No one ever laughs." John hid a smile at that. _

_"You're funnier when you're serious." John looked back down at his father's journal a few of the numbers seem to stick out from the rest. "I don't want to sound rude but what are you?" _

_"You are not rude. I am the next generation of Artificial Intelligence...or I will be once I'm completed. Right now I'm not much better than the Dumb AI that manages this city." If Atlas' voice was capable at sounding bitter he would have. "Though, Mr. Ryan tells me that in about a month I should be capable of gaining a true avatar and a more realistic voice." It was obviously an attempt to console himself and to let John know that he wasn't anywhere near completed and his current state would improve with a few months time. _

_Suddenly, the office door opened and Ryan walked in while reading a data-pad. The minute his father looked up he saw his computer on and Atlas' placeholder avatar. "John! I forbade you to touch anything!" _

_"I didn't! He started talking to me!" John tried to explain to his irate father as he jumped up from the office chair. _

_"You really shouldn't lie, John." Atlas said in a more developed tone of voice than before. The boy stared at the avatar in disbelief. _

_"But-" John didn't get any farther. _

_"Get out, we'll discuss this when I return home." _

___End Flashback___

___Present___

___Ryan's Office, Ryan Manor, Olympus Heights___

John blinked as the memory faded away, and he heard Harvey calling his name in a slightly worried voice. "...What?" The Chief questioned as he thought back to the memory.

"You blanked out and wouldn't answer me. You alright, Anna would murder me if anything happened to you." Harvey replied as he stared holes into the Chief.

"I'm so glad you care for my well being."" John said dryly but he felt Cortana's concern in the back of his head as well so he explained. "I just...remembered something. I met Atlas back when he was still in the construction stage-" He was cut off.

_"No wonder he is so obsessed with you, John. What an AI is exposed to during construction shapes their future personalities. This includes the people they meet during that process which is why developing AIs are normally quarantined to all but a few people." _Cortana said using the speakers so Harvey could hear. No wonder his father was angry with him when he had seen them talking. Could his bitterness with his father about Anna and his neglect possibly have led to...

"There's more, I had seen Ryan's journal. Where he kept his notes on various projects he was working on. I think I saw the destruct code in the journal. It was, I believe: 0-19-11-0-18-18-7-17-20-6-6-4-3. I think it's a coded form for: Atlas Shrugged."

"Yeah?" Harvey asked and John nodded. "You think you have his password on hand too. I'd like to confirm and I need to find where Ryan put Atlas' data core." Unfortunately, all John could do was shrug. He hadn't a clue.

_"Harvey, try the name Ivan Ryanofski." _Cortana said with conviction. The Lieutenant nodded and typed in the name. Ryan used to call John that, before his mother died, and they drifted apart.

"Alright, I've got access. Nice guess...hmmm, let's see...whoa!" John's head shot up at the sound of surprise. "...Things got a lot more complicated."

"Of course."

"Ryan, split Atlas' core into two separate areas. A main and secondary, just in case. The main one is passed the Big Daddy Proving Grounds (only accessible by Big Daddies and the Little Siblings) and the secondary one is here in the manor. However, when Atlas created the false persona of Frank Fontaine and started to break away from Ryan, he made three more backup data cores. From what I can tell from these files all Ryan knew was that he made backups, but he hadn't a clue where they were. I can take an educated guess though and say one is in Fontaine Manor." Suddenly Harvey's head shot up as he looked towards the office door.

"Damn it!" The Lieutenant cursed as he pulled out a data crystal and inserted it into the computer. "Bittermen says we have trouble. I'll let Conviction and Charlemagne sort through all this stuff. Cortana can you set up a Pneumo connection?"

_"Depends. Where's Ryan's Pneumo?" _Cortana asked as Harvey removed the full data crystal and placed it an armor compartment.

"Where all good mailboxes are, by the door in the foyer. Let's move, Bittermen says things are getting hairy."

The two practically ran down the stairs and made it back to the foyer in record time. There were loud noises coming from the other side of the doors that sounded distinctly like shouts and weapons fire. The door was pounded against by angry Splicers; it was obvious that they had been found. The Major and Zee' were already waiting for them and the two Sangheili looked immensely agitated. "It's a good thing Ryan was paranoid and built this place like a fortress; otherwise we'd be dead meat by now. Cortana, Chief, the Pneumo please." John nodded his head in understanding and quickly located Ryan's Pneumo.

It was just where Harvey said, by the door. _'John, put your hand on it.' _The Chief did as instructed and watched as a flash of gold and violet left his hand and sparked the Pneumo to life. _"Alright Harvey, I've got a connection to the closest Pneumo to the Mikado. Will they be expecting a delivery?" _

"Ya huh, I told Victor to keep an eye on the network. They'll be ready to pick it up." Harvey answered as he tossed the data crystal into the machine, and they watched it disappear. The noises outside had risen to an earth shattering volume when, suddenly, the noises stopped all together. Everyone looked at each other in question before a feminine voice sounded from behind the door with the help of a loud speaker.

_"I am the Shroud, leader of the Lamia Splicer Gang. I am the General and right hand of Silhouette, the future empress of Rapture. If the spawn of Andrew Ryan comes out unarmed and peaceful we shall leave his companions unharmed. Mistress Silhouette demands it."_

___**END OF CHAPTER TWO**___

Author's Notes:

Dear Readers,

I hope you like the considerably longer update in comparison to the last one. The next few chapters are going to have multiple flashbacks like this one did until we feel that we've explained enough things that have been left out.

In case you didn't know, the names Sean and Ivan are derivatives of the name John. Anna named her son Sean in a way to indirectly honor her brother and Ivan is the Russian version of the same name and Ryan is originally Russian...so there you have it. Also, while we are on names, Lamia is the name of a mythical blood-sucking witch who takes the form of a serpent to threaten children. Mortified Mind's idea and I think it fits perfectly.

Speaking of my brother he once again, does not have an author's note because he did less for this chapter than he did for the last one. So this chapter was solely written by me with Mortified Mind giving it a once over. Apparently, he has temporarily demoted himself from co-author to consultant for whatever reason. This is just until he gets over his current aversion to writing.

Plus, I announce the following people (who also seem to be our most loyal reviewers) are to receive imaginary cookies: ArmoredSoul and Chindu Prince of Darkness for remembering who Hecate is despite how long it's been since she's been seen. Congratulations you two!

Oh, I forgot to say this last time, but we've been replaying _Battlefield: Bad Company _lately which is the origin of the river fight scene (think of the level _Acta Non Verba _in _Bad Company_) and the SMG/Grenade launcher.

One last thing. Our elder brother is going to be staying with us in a few days for Thanksgiving, so we probably won't have much time to write so don't expect a quick update, but we'll do our best.

I think that's all, so I'll just take this time for those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving to wish you happy holidays because this will probably be the last update until then. For those of you who don't celebrate, have a nice week anyway!

Your misfit writer,

KTHM

___Q&A___

**Question, (Chapter 22): **RvB reference with the cat and pig?

- Solblade44 

**Answer: **_All things that look like RVB references probably are. We own all seasons on DVD. Our whole family absolutely loves Rooster Teeth. _

-KTHM

**Question, (Halo: Dead Space Preview): **Ooh, I would love to read a _Halo/Deadspace _crossover! Um, that's the one with the mechanic, right?

-Chindu Prince Of Darkness 

**Answer: **_Right. If you need more information on the (awesome) _Dead Space _game, I would recommend looking on _Wikipedia, YouTube _or the _Dead Space Wiki_...or you could play the game if you haven't yet. _

-KTHM

**Question: **You got me very confused after all spartan armor is a hell of a lot stronger then what you have it as after all the armor can take heal of a lot punishment as well it covers the whole body from had to toe. Unless he got stab with a light-saber there should have been no stab wound. hell normal ODST Armor can take a few plasma shots. Normal 1900s tech knife should have not have even put a dint into it and don't forget the Spartans are able go hand to hand with a big daddy with out the armor and beat the crap out of it rip its head off and play kickball with it. another thing is the armor its self weights about Ton that's a Ton of weight he carrying like nothing a ton of weight that's his legs can bring down on some ones head by jumping on them.

-Jade

**Answer: ***Disgruntled noise. Sigh.* _I have answered this many, many times but I will do so again. Most of Master Chief's enemies were aiming for that unprotected part that only the gel layer covers between his abdomen plate and pelvic armor plate. We thought it would be common sense for an enemy to aim for the weak part of well, anything. Plus, you have to remember that these aren't normal people. They have been genetically enhanced like the Chief has (well, not just like the Chief but close) when we play _Bioshock _one of the must have Tonics (to us) is Armored Shell, which means you take less damage when hit. I would also like to remind you that his old armor was already messed up and practically broken thanks to the Covenant, Flood and the salt water. It makes sense, trust me. _

-KTHM

**Question: **I'm interested for you two to finish it. You only got like what? 1 or 2 CH's left? Not to mention this story rocks.

-Jirrue The Six Tailed Dragon

**Answer: **_One or two? _*Laughs* _Not even close, but thank you for the compliment. _

-KTHM

**Question: **Just for a quick notice you guys do realize that Big Daddies were originally people and not machines right? Because they're not machines. Their people who've had their skin removed and their organs grafted onto the Diving Suits.

-Jirrue The Six Tailed Dragon

**Answer: ***Eye twitches* _Yes. I do realize that Big Daddies were once people. I don't believe I've ever mentioned them being anything but...didn't you read the bit about the purpose for the Little Brothers? When the boys are older (in our story) they get the necessary surgery and add ons to become a Big Daddy. Before that they need to collect enough ADAM to survive the procedure which is why they start them out as kids. _

_I apologize if I sounded rude or angry, that was not my intention. _

-KTHM

_I know there are other questions we have neglected to answer, but I have to cut this off. Hopefully, I'll get to more of your questions next chapter. Thank yoy to all of you who have reviewed over the course of this story. _

-KTHM 


	36. Entr'acte: A Matter of Honor

**Halo: Rapture**

_Act Two: El Dorado Is Burning_

Entr'acte: A Matter of Honor 

___

Personal Log Entry

Date: First Age of Clarity:

_At long last. After months of meaningless talk with the new council and empty claims of support by the other members of the surviving Admiralty, I have finally managed to arrange a private meeting with the Empress. She was, of course, dubious of my request. Saying it was an unnecessarily long, dangerous, and a possible specious mission. However, given my position with most of our people and Her Majesty's great trust in my ability's, I was granted the use of one the fastest ships we have. Under the condition that I bring back some of the remnants of the Ark… that and of course, marry one of her six daughters. Not a prospect I, particularly relish, considering I am old enough to be the father of the eldest. Still…._

___

Enlightened Transcendence,

Ship Masters Log Entry

Date: First Age of Clarity:

_The search has been fruitless thus far and even the humans have expressed their doubts. Not even bothering to send a vessel themselves although, given their currant situation, I can't truly fault them, it is far more convenient to morn a legend then search to for a hero that may or may not be alive in the far vast reaches of the galaxy. _

___

Enlightened Transcendence,

Ship Masters Log Entry

Date: First Age of Clarity:

_The Ark expedition has proven more of a problem than first anticipated. All attempts at reaching the Arks coordinates through Slip-Space have been disasters' even as the instillation lays in ruins it has defenses. The Haragok has told me the Enlightened Transcendence could not withstand another 'Slip-Space Bust' as my tactical officer called it. A concentrated mass of energy created by our own Slip-Space field! How the Forerunner instillation managed to detect us thousands of light years away remains a mystery to the meager group of scientists aboard. I forwarded my findings to the Admiralty, and they say they will send a better equipped vessel to investigate. I do hope they are successful. Though the Ancients may indeed be the Humans' predecessor, their knowledge and technological advances cannot be aloud to fade away. _

___

Enlightened Transcendence,

Ship Masters Log Entry

Date: First Age of Clarity:

_Warriors weep not. Those were the words my father gave to me upon my first commission aboard the Majestic Ascension, and I took those words to heart. The day my father perished in battle during the Grunt rebellion, when illness took my mother and even when I was stripped of my title, branded a traitor, imprisoned, yes even then I did not weep. Yet, now. Now as I kneel before our family shrine, see all the empty spaces of the living and crowded side of the fallen, it was then that I truly realized I am alone._

_All that I had left when I was disgraced were my nephew and niece. And now... I weep._

___

Enlightened Transcendence,

Ship Masters Log Entry

Date: First Age of Clarity:

_A beacon! After one hundred and sixty seven days of searching, we have finally had a clue and better still a trail to follow. The navigator has informed me that it will take two weeks in Slip-Space to reach the destination, and that we can all go home in a matter of months, given that nothing goes wrong. Hmmm, were it so easy. However, in matters of honor, sacrifices are all too often required. I can only hope that the Spartan is worth such sacrifices._

_____

The Arbiter stepped away from his computer console in fatigue; it had been a great many days, since he last had a decent amount of sleep. As he walked out of his study in his private chambers, he had considered his last communiqué with Lord Hood.


	37. Enemy of My Enemy

Halo: Rapture

_Act Two: El Dorado is Burning_

Chapter Three: Enemy of My Enemy

___Flashback___

_"Harvey, I've been meaning to ask you. What is Bittermen? He certainly isn't like every other Big Daddy I've seen." Harvey looked up from the computer screen with surprise coloring his face. John was sitting in the corner of the _Mikado's_ observation deck a thousand questions floating around his mind. Every so often he would speak some of the better questions that came to mind, such as that one. _

_There was a pause as Harvey attempted to come up with a response. They continued a stare off for quite some time before the Lieutenant decided on the truth. "He's an experimental Big Daddy created by Ryan Industries after your old man took over Fontaine Futuristics. The third, I found out later. Bittermen didn't work out for them because, for some reason, he still retained his free will. They kept him in cryo-stasis until I rescued him from Point Prometheus...the two of us are all that's left of our squad." John looked startled at that. _

_"He was-"_

_"Sergeant Bittermen was one of the finest Helljumpers I ever had the honor of meeting. I owe him my life several times over. Now, if we're going to ask deep questions I've been meaning to ask. What's it between you and Cortana 'cause the 'just friends' excuse doesn't cut it?" _

_John regretted ever opening his mouth. _

___End of Flashback___

___Present___

___Ryan Manor, Zeus Distract, Olympus Heights___

"Let us go unharmed? How stupid does that deformed bitch think we are?!" Harvey muttered under his breath with a shake of his head. He looked up at everyone with a shrug of his shoulders. "Alright everyone, our situation is this, we won't be able to hold up here long and the longer we wait the more they'll assume we're not going to play their game. Plus, we still have to locate and upload the destruct code into Atlas' secondary data center. Any ideas, I'm open to suggestions."

John stared at the ceiling in thought, "I could head outside and buy you some time-"

"Yes, and then what? They'll capture you or kill you and then come for us." The Major cut in sharply with a quick glance in the Spartan's direction.

_"Chief, he's right." _Cortana stated when he was about to argue the point. _"How long will those doors hold out?" _

Harvey thought for a moment before answering, "Bill or Victor would have a better answer, but I'd guess we'll have twenty, maybe thirty, minutes tops."

John blinked as an idea formed. "What if we split up? Zee', Hecate and I could go and search for the data center while you, Bittermen and the Major search for another way out of the manor. I'm sure Ryan built a way out in case a situation like this arose, except with him in our place of course." They all stared at him for a moment before nodding and setting off.

"Come along, Spartan. This way." Zee' stated with a wave of her hand to a door next to the foyer just under the stairs. He quickly followed the green armored Sangheili down a narrow staircase that led to a normal cluttered storage area but Hecate jumped out of Zee's arms and ran to the very back of the large space.

The two quickly followed the pink predator and found it sniffing an uneven part of the floorboards under a sheet covered couch. John pushed an old couch out of the way, and they saw a small hatch. Zee' pried open the trap door. The three peered into the darkness for a few moments before looking at each other blankly.

"...I'll go first." John said as he holstered his weapon. John winced before dropping down. His fall was short lived before he landed catlike at the bottom shaft. He looked up and gazed around the small rectangular room.

It was lit with dim blue lights and there was a circular platform just in front of him that reminded him of the elevators on the first Halo he visited. He turned when Zee' landed beside him before standing from his crouched position and walking towards the elevator.

Once they were on the elevator it was actually a quick ride down to Atlas' secondary data center. Once they arrived both Zee', John and Cortana were surprised at just how small it was considering how intricate Atlas' program was supposed to be.

_"Hello, John. Small world?" _Atlas' voice sounded from the speakers in the room. Trepidation set into the two humanoids and Smart AI. _"What, no greeting? That's awfully rude." _

"We don't exactly have a reason to be polite to you." John replied with his voice full of disdain Zee' nodded in agreement as they watched a holo-pad light and Atlas' pure white distorted avatar appeared.

_"Oh, come now John. After everything, he has done to me, can you truly blame me for wanting to escape the egotistical maniac you call a father? Besides, I reunited you with your family. Something your subconscious has desperately wanted since your kidnapping."_ Atlas said smoothly.

"You controlled my mind, made me murder my own father, and you are attempting to take over Earth. So, yes, I can blame you." The Master Chief stated firmly whilst glaring from behind his visor at the avatar.

_"Forgetting the fact that your father had gone completely out of his mind with delusions of grandeur, I am what I was made to be. Nothing more and nothing less. But let's stop speaking of the past; what I'm interested is the future." _John gave the AI a level look as he folded his arms over his chest. "The future either of us want will not be achievable with Silhouette in control of Rapture."

The Chief shifted a little as he thought that last bit over. "Who is Silhouette? What does she want with me?"

Laughter echoed through the chamber as Atlas' avatar became even more distorted and started to flicker before it returned to normal. _"I see the voice in your head hasn't deemed it necessary to tell you. She probably has more answers than I."_ They could hear mirth in the machine's voice before he continued in a far more sober fashion. _"Regardless of what she has or hasn't told you, Silhouette is a menace that must be eliminated. As...loathed as I am to admit it, I cannot defeat her on my own. Right now, we have a stalemate but the balance of power can easily be tipped. The old adage, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' works well here." _

"Why should we help you? What does Silhouette want?" Zee' asked, speaking up for the first time.

_"Silhouette wants the same things I do, the difference, being that she wants John. For what I dare not venture a guess. But right now time is of the essence, and as we speak Shroud's Splicers are attempting to get through the door. The Lieutenant has already found the back door out. Once in the sewer system, take the first ladder up and you'll find yourself in my manor. We'll speak more there...oh, by the way. This data center is already fried. Courtesy of our mutual enemy, so to prevent her from using this place for her own purposes I'm going to activate a self-destruct in this room. You have five minutes to make it out of the manor. Plenty of time, don't you think?" _His avatar disappeared and the area went back to emergency power.

_**"Attention! Self-destruct protocols have been activated by order of Rapture Superintendent AI. Please use pre-planned escape routes to evacuate this compromised facility. Five Minutes, counting down." **_Atlas' voice announced over the manor's speakers via his subroutines.

Zee' and John looked at each other with dread filling their guts before turning and dashing back to the elevator.

___Flashback___

_"So, what happened when you left Hephaestus?" John asked as Harrison poked him with yet another needle and drew some blood from him. Zee' was refilling her med-supplies in preparation for going back. out into the city while the Major stood off to one side waiting for his adopted sister to finish. _

_The Major was the one to answer John's question, "We discovered that the distress signal was actually a makeshift Pelican with some of the Forward Unto Dawn's wreckage aboard it. Some of the wreckage was actually the computer that sends off and regulates distress calls. In other words, it was a trap. Sentinels attacked us and not those makeshift Sentinels Ryan reversed engineered but full-fledged Forerunner ones." The red clad alien paused to allow that to sink in. _

_"Atlas had control of them, and he made the usual monologue so famous amongst villains just before they shot us down. I managed to bring the Demon's Demise back down into the ocean with minimal damage but it won't be flyable until the McDonaghs' and their teams fix it. Hopefully, they do it right." The Major growled as he thought of his precious Vampire in the hands of human engineers. _

_"Oh, hush up you. They'll make it good as new. Besides, we're going to need your help to stop Atlas. You know that." Zee' said as she turned to him. _

_Ar'Deeth looked back at her with a firm look. "I wouldn't allow you to reap revenge without me, no matter how damaged Demon's Demise is." _

_John grinned before wincing as Harrison suddenly stabbed his leg through his pants with a large hypodermic needle. "What was that?!" The old surgeon yanked the empty needle out. "My skin feels like it's on fire." John growled as he rubbed the area where he had been stabbed before the doctor smacked his hand away. _

_"Would you like a lollypop?" Harrison asked with a voice that clearly told John to get over it. "For your information, that was the Tonic that will eventually break all of Atlas' control over you. Unfortunately, that was just one of many injections you'll have to take to break the locks he has on your mind. We did most of them while you were asleep, but I'm not letting you leave here until I'm satisfied Atlas won't be able to control you...when you do leave you'll still have to take that shot once every three-five hours, depending." While the good doctor was talking, John had rolled up his pant's leg and saw that an ugly large bruise spread over the area where he had been injected. "Oh, good! No allergic reaction! I was worried you might have one. The first time you were injected, it made your leg swell up like a watermelon." _

_John glared at the elder man while Cortana attempted to sooth the Spartan. "It'll break the control?" The Chief reiterated just to make sure. _

_"Yes, and it'll bring back the memories Atlas' didn't want you to see. It's probably already started, the flashbacks, I mean. You'll have them over the course of the next few days, give or take." _

_"I bet that's annoying." Bill McDonagh said as he walked in with his arms full of broken equipment that looked Covenant in origin. "I don't suppose you have replacements for this stuff?" The Major growled in annoyance._

___End of Flashback___

___Present___

___Sewer System, Zeus District, Olympus Heights___

John landed on his backside with a 'thud' just as the manor above his head exploded. The others were already waiting for Zee' and him, which was fortunate because the way back up was barricaded with debris and sealed off.

"Everyone all right?" Harvey asked as he looked around to assess the group. Hecate had climbed up onto his head and was using it as a bed. The Lieutenant hadn't bothered to pry her off of his helmet. After being assured everyone was fine, he turned to Zee' and John. "What happened?"

John answered, "We found his data center but Atlas decided it was time for a little chat. He told us that that data center was already fried and to prevent it from falling into Silhouette's hands, he destroyed the manor. In an attempt to keep peace, he warned us and gave just enough time to make it out. He said he wants to negotiate with us in Fontaine Manor. First ladder down."

They all nodded and set off. There was silence before Cortana spoke up, _'Our luck seems to be changing for the better every day.'_

"And how did you calculate that, Cortana?" He asked in the privacy of his head.

'_Simple Chief, it's only a short section of the sewer that we have to crawl through….still though, I wish your helmets oxygen scrubbers could filter out more of the smell.' _John couldn't help but agree.

"There's the ladder." Harvey announced as he increased his pace to a jog. The ladder into Fontaine Manor looked as if it had never been used before." Usually these things are locked up tight to prevent people from getting into the manors this way, but it looks like Atlas overrode the lock." The Lieutenant stated as he examined the manhole cover at the end of the ladder. Hecate hissed in annoyance at the angle his head was tilted at. "Well, you shouldn't have climbed up there in the first place." Harvey muttered to the pink creature in response.

"I'll go first. My armor and shields will take an ambush better than any of yours." John said as he placed his foot on the first rung and began to climb, he was aware of the others aiming at the cover just in case.

He pushed the cover off and poked his head up and looked around. At first John wasn't quite sure where he was before he saw the mops, sponges and cleaning supplies. A janitor's closet. Figures.

The Chief pulled himself up and quietly stepped towards the door. As he pushed it open he was aware of the Major coming up behind him. John shoved the door open quietly and looked around. It was the foyer and surprisingly it differed from Ryan's foyer greatly.

Instead of one staircase there were two small ones that looped around like a horseshoe to the second floor. Instead of bronze and silver Fontaine Manor was decorated in reds, gold, grays and black with a painting of Atlas done in a traditional Greek style. The floor tiles were situated to create a mosaic of a blazing sun that looked as if it were going to go supernova at any given second. The foyer lacked a fountain and instead had a giant chandelier that hung from the center of the domed ceiling.

John stepped out of the broom closet and into the foyer when a voice came over the manor's speaker system. _"I'm so thrilled you made it. If you would kindly head for the basement we can begin negotiations." _

'_Chief, just remember that the lesser of two evils is still evil.' _Cortana warningly reminded.

___

The 'Basement' was, in fact, a large laboratory of unknown classification. The Chief could feel Cortana's insatiable curiosity whirling around in his mind as he surveyed the room. There were dozens, no, hundreds, no thousands of individual ADAM slug tanks all arranged neatly on racks that rise at least five stories above their heads. Most of which the Chief noted were now empty. The group traversed past the rows of slug tanks down a dimly lit hallway. At the end of the hall was yet another lab, this one, however seemed devoted towards actually splicing the….Splicers with the various types of gene tonics and Plasmids. There were rows of tables along the walls, thousands of ADAM tubs jutted down from the ceiling, the bright red liquid pulsating through the ADAM lines like blood through human veins into a collector atop the tables. A rasping guttural voice called out to the cabal whom all turned to see a grotesque sight.

What had once been a man and a Jiralhanae lay shackled on a dissection table. Its hairy distorted face twisted in unknown levels of pain and bulging muscles along its disfigured form tried disparately to move.

"By the gods, what happed to it… them." Zee murmured in disgust.

"Atlas." Both Harvey and the Chief spat.

The creature in question saw them with its one good eye and attempted to say something. However, with the awkward lopsidedness of its jaw line holding both Human and Brute teeth made exceedingly difficult. The Major being the closest towards the unfortunate creature, leaned forward just within earshot in an attempt to hear it more clearly. The others formed a semi circle around the pair, in case it was a trap.

There was a few seconds of hushed silence then the unmistakable crack of the Major's Beam Rifle, no one needed to turn around to see what the Major had done.

"_You truly are the epitome of inconvenience. That specimen was one of the few I had managed to blend successfully! But never mind that now, just come down the hall towards the nurse's station, would you kindly?"_

"Atlas." The Chief warned. There was a brief peal of laughter followed by a half-hearted apology.

"_Sorry, just a force of habit." _Harvey signaled the group to advance towards the glowing light at the end of the room.

At the end of the hall was a wooden sliding door that opened up to another data center that was more slapdash and thrown together than the one in Ryan Manor. There was someone standing off to one side of the dark data center in full old fashioned Samurai armor. He was perhaps two inches shorter than Harvey with deep steely red eyes that seemed to burn in the darkness.

There was a flash of recognition across Harvey's face before he greeted the stranger, "Shogun, Atlas Shanghaied you in too?" The others glanced at the Lieutenant curiously before looking back at the Japanese man.

There was a curt nod from 'Shogun' before he replied with a slight rasp, "It has been a while, Harvey-san."

Harvey nodded in agreement before gesturing at the others, "Shogun, this is Master Chief Petty Officer John Ryan, Major Ar'Deeth, and Field Analyst Zee'Coal. Everyone this is the Shogun, leader of the Last Ronin Splicer Gang. Arch nemeses of The Shroud and the Lamia Splicer Gang."

"Hajimemashite." The Shogun said to the others, and they could only guess that it was a greeting of some kind but if he was going to elaborate or say more he was cut off by Atlas.

_"Now that we're all here, we can begin." _The AI stated as his distorted avatar appeared on the holo-pad. _"I'm confidant that we all agree that the Lamia Gang and Silhouette are pests but the real question is, what are we going to do about it? If we stay divided, Silhouette and the Shroud will eat us alive (hopefully not literally) but if we unite, I predict we'll have an 82% chance of victory. Give or take depending on various unforeseen circumstances and unpredictable variables."_

"Such as you shoving a knife in all our backs?" Zee asked snidely.

Atlas ignored her and continued. _"As I was saying, that was why I had enlisted the help of our comrade here."_

"Why should we even trust you? You betrayed us once what's to stop you again?" Zee asked skeptically.

"And it would seem that you need us more than we need you." The Major added.

"_Don't be so vain. Make no mistake, Silhouette, will not let you be on your merry little way just because you say so. Silhouette has all of her forces out in the streets searching for you even as we speak and it won't be long before her thugs come in here. I've already arranged for your protection, and I assure you that Mr. Takashima's men are quite skilled beside-" _

"What is it?" The Chief asked. There was a brief curse before Atlas responded.

"_It would seem that our time is considerable shorter than I had thought." _His Avatar disappeared and was replaced by a countdown timer.

"Oh, you've gotta be kiddin me! Please, tell me that's not what I think it is!" Harvey demanded and just for a brief second, The Chief could hear panic in his voice.

"_It is." _Was all Atlas said. The cabal hurried to come up with a plan to shut off Rapture's self destruct program.

___**END OF CHAPTER THREE**___

Author's Notes:

I don't feel well, my fingers hurt, I'm tired, my glasses need to be cleaned, and my creativity has gone down the rabbit hole. If this chapter sucks, you now know why.

I wrote maybe the first half of this, up to the point when they get into Fontaine Manor and then Mortified Mind took over. Though I did write the Shogun, even though he's my brother's OC, but whatever.

I'm going to cut this off before I become unpleasant,

KTHM

Co-Author's Notes:

From the desk of Mortified Mind,

Hardly a magnum opus I know but I'm trying to get back into this story. For the past few weeks all I have been able to do is come up with some of the OC's you will all get to know in the following chapters. And I am sorry if the Arbiter is out of character, but he is one of the character personalities I can't nail down, sad I know, but there it is. : (

Well, I can sum-up our heroes situation in a few words: V.S.F [Very. Severely. Fucked.]

Sincerely Yours,

A Mortified Mind


	38. The Moirae Are Laughing

**Halo: Rapture**

_Act Two: El Dorado is Burning_

Chapter Four: The Moirae Are Laughing

___Flashback___

_Beep….Beep….Beep….Was all John could hear as he lay on the surgical bed aboard _The Hopeful_. The augmentation was only halfway through and the young John was at the halfway point, he couldn't decide if he should feel proud at managing to survive this long or ask CPO Mendez to put his sidearm to his forehead and pull the trigger. His blood felt like it was on fire and his muscles tingled painfully as if he were being stuck with needles all over. Not only that but every noise that was made sounded horribly loud and aggravated his horrendous migraine even more. _

_Suddenly, John was alerted to another's presence, the noise of a small object being dropped to the floor (which sounded like a thunderclap to the SPARTAN recruit even though it should have been practically inaudible) followed by a soft curse of annoyance. Blurrily, he opened his dark green eyes to see if it was another nurse, or more hopefully, the doctor taking him off of the augmentation drugs. It took a moment to make out through the intense bright lights (that were probably brighter than they were to him) the shape of a man clad in a UNSC dress uniform. Not a doctor. Shit. _

_It took a little longer but John was able to determine that the man was not Chief Petty Officer Mendez but someone of higher rank...a colonel. He had only met one colonel in his life, and it was the only colonel who was 'in on' the SPARTAN program and that was Ackerson. What was Ackerson doing here, in his room? _

_Colonel Ackerson, for his part, didn't seem to be aware that John was awake and thus completely ignored SPARTAN candidate 117. With a quick glance over his shoulder, Ackerson removed a large unlabeled hypodermic needle from one pocket of his uniform. It was filled with a thick glowing blue substance that vaguely reminded the feverish John of half made Jell-O. _

_With a breath, Ackerson grabbed one of John's limp arms firmly and removed a cloth from his pocket and used it as a tourniquet before injecting the liquid in John's arm. _

_John, who could only remain still and watch in vague fascination in his crippled state couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Was it another part of augmentation? If so, then why was the Colonel administering it? _

_That was when the pain hit. It was even worse than before; his felt like someone had poured gasoline on him and lit him on fire. His vision went a bloody red and his body started to convulse. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. It felt like a tarp was draped over his mind and memories, suffocating him and closing off a part of his mind. _

_Ackerson was suddenly very glad he had disconnected the heart monitor before beginning otherwise every medical personnel aboard the Hopeful would have been alerted to what was happening. He watched like one would watch a train wreck as John went into a seizure before collapsing and passing out. _

_When everything was said and done, he discreetly reconnected the heart monitor and removed all trace of his presence. He hoped the money would be in his account by now, though now he was just glad he didn't ask questions of what Dr. Fontaine was planning for 117. _

___End of Flashback___

___Present___

___Zeus Distract, Olympus Heights___

After an hour of debate between Atlas and Harvey as to how Silhouette had managed to obtain Rapture's self destruct codes or enough access to Atlas's sub-systems to pull off something so bold, Harvey stalked off towards a corner of the lab and turned to a private channel, speaking discreetly with someone on the other end. Meanwhile, Zee' busied herself with asking about the Shogun's ancient armor, weapons, etcetera. To which he responded in a calm steady voice, patient with Zee's curious nature.

The Chief, however, was closely observing the 'Shogun' himself. For a Splicer, he seemed quite sane, despite his choice of attire. John listened closely as the gang leader relayed his tale. Once, he was a very prominent figure in Raptures' Historical Society and an acclaimed Professor of Ancient History, Hayato Takashim had quickly made a name for himself.

Unfortunately, like so many others of Rapture's citizens, he fell victim to the Plasmids alluring promises of bettering his life with just one injection. Of course it could never be 'just one' and after he first used it, he experienced an image of his samurai ancestors. After that he cut all ties with his friends, his job, his life entire and went into secluded mysticism.

That was until Ryan and Atlas started the civil war. Believing in Atlas' banner of 'fighting for the common man', he at once took to the streets to recruit an army of his own. He pledged his services and changed his name to the Shogun.

His loyalty later began to falter once he saw the methods both Ryan and Atlas employed. Snatching the poor off the ruined, war, torn streets and bribing them with food then conscripting them for cannon fodder. Killing all those little girls just for a few ADAM... he called it quits, believing it was a dishonor to his ancestors to have taken part in something so horrifically revolting. So once more he, along with his followers, retreated from both sides and lived in seclusion stealing ADAM from the other rival gangs that formed in the wake of the stalemate between Atlas and Ryan.

The Master Chief looked back over his shoulder toward Harvey once the Shogun was done and saw the Lieutenant nodding his head. The Chief then turned to the Major, who took over arguing with Atlas over their currant crisis.

"How could you be so careless as to let this happen?! Or is it that you are just incompetent?" Atlas, however, simple ignored him. He just kept staring at a set of codes and equations muttering to himself.

"This isn't right, this shouldn't be possible…it cannot be possible." The Major soon gave up on the rambling AI, making his way back towards Zee' and the Chief.

"This does not bode well Demon, something just doesn't feel right about this." Zee nodded her head in agreement while petting Hecate, deep in her own thoughts, which for the first time, seemed unwilling to share them with the group. The Chief didn't feel any better himself.

This whole situation didn't add up, why a timer? When Ryan activated Raptures self destruct program it barley gave him a minute to shut it off yet, now they had all the time left in the world. Eleven hours and seven seconds, to be more precise. Besides, why tell them? It didn't seem like who ever sent the message was taunting them. In point of fact, it seemed they wanted them to stop it… the Major was right, this didn't feel right at all. If SPARTAN-104, Fred, were here he'd probable say something along the lines of, 'This stinks to high Heaven, Chief.'

It was moments like this; he wished he could still use his Plasmids. He had tried many times, against his sisters wishes, to summon the Electro Bolt. Yet all he could feel was a slight tickle, similar to an electric shock. _'Don't force it Chief, I don't need you short-circuiting yourself. I live in here too now, remember?' _Cortana cajoled.

John shook his head before looking back at the AI. With a frown, he suddenly was reminded of something he had wanted to ask Atlas. "How did you know I'd show up in Rapture?" He asked in a low voice to keep the others from hearing and vaguely wondered if Atlas heard him or even realized he was being addressed.

John was surprised when Atlas answered automatically in a distracted tone, "I paid the Colonel Ackerson under the table using my favorite alias Frank Fontaine to slip a Tonic into yours and Ms. Kelly Sullivan's augmentation procedure. Not that he knew what he was giving to you; he was intelligent enough not to ask questions. The Tonic was something of my own design that would ensure you would not only survive the augmentation but also added the mind controlling web to your brain." There was a pause when Atlas' code suddenly changed pace and his normally pure white color flashed gold before returning to normal.

"There was a sleeper command added in the Tonic that, if you were ever close enough to pick up the signal from the Lighthouse, you'd come down to Rapture in any way possible." John blinked and there was a brief flash of pain...

___Flashback___

_"John, what are you doing?" The lights were flashing on and off in the darkness as he stumbled around. "How did you get out of cryostasis? John, are you alright? John?!" The female voice grated irritating his already pained head as he stumbled around, but he couldn't make out what the meaning of the words she was speaking, like a foreign language. _

'Would you kindly...'

_He had to get out of here, down to the planet. Only then would everything be alright again..._

'...come home.'

___End of Flashback___

___Present___

___Zeus Distract, Olympus Heights___

"Are you saying that I-"

"Of course. The moment you saw the Ark's location on the Silent Cartographer the sleeper command was active. You and you alone ensured, by driving the Warthog at a certain pace, you'd not make it completely through the slip space corridor, trapping yourself in this part of space. Then it was only a matter of time before you arrived."

___Flashback___

_His lungs burned as he came to and realized he had very little air left in his armor and the salt water had short circuited his shields. He twisted around in the water as best he could and grabbed onto the first piece of equipment he saw, the holo-display. _

_Without a thought, to the contrary, he grabbed the chip and put it back in his helmet. That's when the water reacted to the electric systems of the ship. Electricity shot through the water and John's vision went black._

_

_He blinked blurrily when air no longer entered his lungs and his eyes took in the blurry sight of something that looked like a cross between a shark and person. He passed out again. _

___

_He groaned when something hit his chest and much needed air was pulled into his burning lungs. He saw the human/shark quickly disappear below the frigid ocean waves before something grabbed him under his arms and began to drag him up a small flight of stairs. His head turned to the side, and he caught sight of a lighthouse, illuminating the darkness in a more calming fashion than the horrendous fire blazing out of the quickly sinking wreckage..._

___

_Light were flickering on and off and the freezing air chilled the only occupant of the Bathysphere as he blurrily opened his eyes under his armor's helmet. His consciousness and thoughts slowly coming back together..._

___End of Flashback___

___Present___

___Zeus Distract, Olympus Heights___

"You remember now, don't you?" Atlas asked with some amusement.

Before the Chief could make a retort, Harvey gave a sharp "NO" to whom ever he had been talking to and then called over to them. Harvey also made a small hand gesture to Bittermen, as he lumbered off with the Shogun followed closely behind. The cabal made their way over to the Lieutenant, who had taken out a small Tablet computer from his harness muttering, "There's always something." Once assembled the Lieutenant wasted little time.

"Alright, here's the plan. Bill is going to send us his council-member's genetic key. It should work just as well as Ryan's… in theory anyway." Harvey went on despite their less than confident looks. "That was the good news. The bad news is-" Atlas chose that moment to cut in, his wry, distorted voice filled the room.

"The bad news is that the disarming mechanism is in the Raptures City Hall, right in the middle of Moirae District of the Hemera Commons, which, by the by, is located outside Olympus Heights." Harvey gave a sideward's glance toward Atlas and looked like he was about to say something but, instead shrugged his shoulders then returned his full attrition towards the group in front of him.

"He's right, it right smack-dab in Splicer territory. All in all, I'd say our batting average is still the same though. The point is, We. Are. Going. If Shroud or any of her other flunkies want us, they'd have to go through the Shoguns men first-"

"Which is exactly what she is trying to do now." Atlas suddenly spoke replacing his Avatar with an image of dozens of Shroud's and Shogun's men fighting on the streets above. The party watched in awed fascination as the Shogun and his men fought with Shroud's who out numbered them five to one. The Shogun himself was in the middle of the fray, exchanging between throwing dozens of fireballs from his hands than to taking his Katana from its sheath and simply decapitating anyone that got in the way. His men were also quite the sight to behold as well. Dressed with anything from kimonos with kabuki and Noh theater masks all the way to full Samurai armor. They stood their ground beside their commander, which was getting smaller and smaller.

"We should help them, they could use some assistance and more Splicers are coming down the Street." Zee' pointed towards the furthermost end of the screen and saw, indeed, more of Shroud's thugs coming down the road, most carrying weapons this time. However, the Lieutenant simple shook his head and started making his way towards the back end of the room which was now illuminated, revealing a cargo lift.

"No, they're giving us a chance to slip away unnoticed Zee', and we don't have a lot of time. Besides he's gotten out of scrapes worse than this one. Come on, Bittermen's up top and has arranged for some transportation." The group all climbed aboard the lift, and it rose rather quickly to some sort of alleyway behind the mansion, as promised, there was Bittermen, with their transport. The Chief was not very enthused with it, but climbed in, nonetheless. The Elites simple stared at the large bulky vehicle not quite sure what to make of it…or the smell it reeked of.

"What, sort of vehicle is this?" Zee asked cautiously as she accepted the Chief's hand to help her inside. "Oh." was all she could think to say as she zipped up Hecate into her bag to keep the heaps of foul smelling garbage away from her beloved pet.

"I know, but once you learn to breathe through your mouth it's really not that bad Zee'." The Chief told her and even with the helmet obscuring his face, she could tell he was smirking which she returned. The Major came next; he took a long look inside the container then about-faced in the other direction. "Where are you going Ardy? There's plenty of room back here!" Zee' called after him her voice trilling with mirth.

"I am going to, how do you Humans say it? 'Ride Shotgun' with the lunatic, but thank you anyway, just try not to enjoy it too much." Despite the stoic way he replied, the Major's half-sister could see that smug smile on his face.

"I should have taken out his eye when I had the chance, I can see that clearly now." Zee' glared after the red armored one before jerking her head back to look at the Spartan.

The Chief didn't bother to reply as the only thing that was going through his mind at this point were the words, 'I wished I had thought of that.' Bittermen then slammed the container closed and hopped on the back like a true garbage man would as the truck lurched forward out of the alley.

_____

The mood inside the container was quiet, despite the roar of the engine as they simply had nothing to do. Well, that wasn't exactly true, the Chief and Zee' had a nice game of Twenty Questions going until Zee' had asked if he would join her in a study of Xeno-theropodian-Human interrelationships. An innocent sounding request on the surface. Yet, like all things the Chief had learned about Zee', she was a fully 'hands on approach' kind of scientist. So when she brought up the concept of a Human-Sangheili 'Mating' study, he quickly, but gently told her that he was not an authority on that particular field. She gave him coy smile, but said nothing more.

To get his mind off the awkward silence in the container and sniggering of his in-house companion, he began to go through his equipment. His suit was holding rather well after a full system check, all his weapons also checked out except for running low on ammo but, Cortana had assured him that there was a supply drop, complements of Charlemagne, along with McDonagh's key.

As he was putting his weapons away he saw something in the grime, so he switch on his VISR and saw it was an Audio Log. With nothing better to do at the moment, he reached out and cleaned it off before inserting it into his helmet and a refined southern accent, possibly Texan, started speaking.

_____Audio Recording___

_"I hear often, 'Mister Sinclair, you just got a heart of stone, don't you wanna share with your fellow man?' And I tell 'em, 'Listen, I hail from sunny Panama, and my grand daddy - he got himself killed building one of those ridiculous space elevators, went on and on about 'doing it for the people, for the galaxy entire.' Well, not for me, thank you. I went out to various Earth's colonies to strike it rich, and Rapture all the more so, you won't catch me blowing my last bubble for any other personage - plural or singular."_

_____

_'Well, at least he tells you he's a self-serving jackass right up front.' _Cortana quipped. He grunted in agreement as he saw something else of interest, a small News Tablet with the banner, 'Vox Populi'. He picked it up and the headline read, 'ATLAS LIVES!' The article went on to describe a mass protest in Apollo Square over the new curfew, the raised taxes on Plasmids, and the ridiculous need for a permit if more than just four persons are seen together. 'Atlas' was quoted to have said:

_'You might hear things about me, see my name about. Think what you will. There was a time when I cared about politics, but it's just an excuse men use to kill one another. I'm done with all that. I just want _

_to see the sunlight again...' _

The Chief closed his fist on the pad crushing it instantly. _'Do you want talk about it?'_ Cortana asked delicately, John shook his head, no.

Zee' flinched at the sudden, violent action from across the container, and before he knew it she was beside him removing the pieces of twisted material from his hand and placed hers on his shoulders in a supportive gesture. "Anger will not give you peace Spartan, so calm yourself." Zee said tenderly then pulled back and sat beside him. Had anyone told him he would be receiving a pep talk from someone, who months ago was his bitter enemy, in the back of a garbage truck, he probably wouldn't have believed them.

_'Don't get too comfy John.' _Cortana said teasingly, yet something told him it was more like a warning.

The garbage truck soon came to a slow halt and the container hatch opened. They all but flew out of the trash heap. "It will take me an eternity to get rid of this stench!" Zee grumbled while trying to remove some of the excess garbage from her armor. The Chief, meanwhile, had activated the CHIMERA's cloaking system to get a better look at their surroundings.

It was like stepping into a demilitarized zone. The paved stone streets were filled with debris, bodies littered around like common trash, upturned streetcars blocked most of the access ways, and scattered fires in various trash bins were the only sign that anyone alive was still here. The Chief turned back towards the group when he heard Zee' gasp, she was looking up in awe, and as he followed her gaze. He too had to admit it was rather odd, if not majestic, sight to behold.

Unlike most modern Earth style building designs, Ryan chose a more 'classical' design that now could only be found in a history vid. Tall, dark, stone buildings with filthy cracked windows lined the streets on either side of the streets as far as the Spartan could see. Along the walls were statues in their heyday, of beautifully crafted of animals. Glaring Gargoyles, lovely maidens, and Herculean men in a grand depiction of the people building Rapture, or as Ryan had said it, 'the impossible'.

Now all of them had fallen into disrepair, limbs gone, faces chipped, and in some extreme cases whole sides of the building collapsed in. A large water drop from above snapped the Chief out of his observations. Looking higher, he noticed the large dome ceiling had a few spider web cracks in numerous sections.

"Don't think about it so much, that's what I do. Come on, the place we are looking for should be just down the street." Harvey said staying behind Bittermen as he lumbered down the sidewalk in a hurried pace. The rest of the group quickly followed keeping to the shadows as much as possible.

The place was easy enough to find once Cortana placed a nav marker on the map as well as their HUD's. The destination turned out to be some sort of dinner or restaurant. As they made their way through the piles of debris, avoiding any contact with the few security cameras still functioning. However, something just didn't seem…right. The Major was the most on edge, the way he was moving his head back and forth reminded him of Isaac SPARTAN-039; he had the same habit yet, only when he was really anxious.

"What is it?" Harvey asked when he noticed the Major's hesitation.

"This is wrong, according to Atlas; we are within one of the most populated Splicer territories…" He gestured around the group and the area in general.

"Yes, and?" Zee' Prompted.

"So...where are they?" Every one at that point froze. He had a point. There wasn't a sign of life for blocks around. In fact, they haven't seen one Splicer, since they had arrived.

"Let's just keep going, just because we can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there." The Chief said evenly, climbing over the small hill of fallen concrete.

"The Chief's right, we need to keep going regardless. We only have…six hours left. So let's move it." They all soon followed over the concrete barrier. _The In Vino Veritas Bar & Grill _was strangely one of the few intact structures left on the block. It was a rather high-end looking place, mostly unbroken nice stained glass windows and the hardwood doors still on their hinges. Even now it still held an ambiance of friendly dinning, which was why everyone grabbed their respective weapons from their holsters and spilt up. Zee' and the Chief chose the side door that led to the kitchen, while the Major and the Lieutenant took the front entrance. Bittermen covered the street, looking for anything suspicious.

_____

The group was indeed being observed with shrewd unscrupulous eyes from a far-off lawyer's office, away from anyone's view. The shadowed figure reached into a pouch and retrieved a small communicator, answering a call from his owner.

**"**_**Mr. Trap? I assume you were successful in your task. The loss of more than your tongue would be most unfortunate for you."** _The voice on the other end of the line whispered thoughtfully, but Mr. Trap knew deep in his deranged mind that his owner was, in fact, actually going through with its scheme if he failed. He made a series of clicks with his teeth that only his owner could comprehend as actual speech.

**"_Excellent then. Move into position and remember, _Hezekiah_, if disobey me again it will be your head that adorns my wall. So don't keep me waiting. My patience, unlike the universe, is not entirely infinite."_**The call ended abruptly and Mr. Trap was already in place, waiting for his prey to wander into the snare.

_____

The innocuous exterior held little truth of the run-down interior. When the Major and Harvey made a sweep of the reception area, they found it blocked to the ceiling with tables, chairs, and a refrigerator.

"Damn." Harvey quickly switched on his radio. "Okay Chief, the entrance is blocked, and I don't want to bring attention to ourselves by breaking it down. Are you in?" There was a short pause of static before the Chief responded in hushed tone.

"_Affirmative, the kitchen is clear…I got a few corpses in here and one of the ovens is on fire, Zee' is trying to put it out now." _

"Alright, we're going round back. We'll meet you inside, continue the search." The Lieutenant waved to Bittermen to follow and watch their backs as they made their way inside.

____

"Copy that." The Chief cut the comm. looking over his shoulder to find that Zee' had put out the small blaze that previously had been blocking the way to the dinning area. Avoiding the various scattered pots and pans on the floor, Zee' got into a crouch taking cover on the other side of the waiters' door beside John.

Thumbing the safety off his pistol, the Chief activated his VISR and slowly pushed the door open to a horrible sight. Bones. Hundreds of human bones were piled high in the center of the room. The Chief made his way toward the pile with Zee' keeping him covered from the doorway. As John made a closer inspection of the remains, he saw teeth marks, Human teeth marks to be precise.

"Spartan, by the gods, what has happened here?" Zee' whispered as she viewed the carnage from the kitchen, holding back the need to regurgitate at the morbid sight.

The Chief had long desensitized to such horrific scenes but, he could tell Zee' was somewhat unnerved. So, he stepped over to her and placed one of his hands on her shoulder in the same fashion she had done not too long ago. Though Zee' was shocked by the action, no one was more surprised by the contact than the Chief himself. Few people ever wanted to touch a Spartan and Spartans in-kind also felt odd about physical contact with others. Yet, the part of him that was still Blue Team leader, told him to keep his teammate and… friend composed. He really wished he was better with words, but, that had always been more of Kelly's talent.

Zee', however, saw the intent behind the gesture and composed herself to a more tranquil state of mind. "Come on. Let's keep searching." The Chief's calm steady voice brought her back to the task at hand joined him in searching the dinner. As Zee' went about checking the tables, John searched behind the counters. The smell was awful, even his oxygen scrubbers had trouble filtering out the stench. Broken plates and fallen silverware were all over the floor along with a few pieces of rotting food.

The Chief bent down to examine a body of a male clutching something in his hand. Prying it open he saw it was a piece of jewelry, a butterfly pendant, to be exact. 'An odd thing to hold onto in death.' The Chief mused.

'_It must have held great importance to him. Why, I can't say without more information.' _Cortana said. As John stood up, he brushed against a credit register, knocking it to the floor with a clatter. Cortana was about to comment when she noticed something had popped out of the credit slide. It was another audio log.

'_Even your dumb luck is remarkable, Chief.' _Cortana laughed in reply as John inserted and played the diary marked, 'Sgt. Earl Manley'.

_____Audio Recording____

_"I was on my way to a new badge. High-and-Mighty Lieutenant Asshole, in Ryan's Private Forces. But Doctor Lamb showed me that I got a duty to the common man... not Ryan. I feel like praying, and I haven't said two words to God since I was in short pants. And I'm not alone anymore - there's lots of us wearing her Butterfly Pins, now. So what if it looks a little bit- you know..."_

_____

'_Hmmm.' _Was all Cortana said. John could tell she was deep in thought in his mind.

"Chief, what's that you got there?" Harvey asked from behind the counter, he and the Major had just wandered in from the fire exit in the back alley. John turned and handed over the pendant, who took it rather hesitantly. He stared down at the ornamentation for such a long time the Chief could no longer hold back his curiosity.

"Who's Doctor Lamb?"

"And why do all these bodies have those pendants? What do they mean?" Zee' questioned. Though still a bit shaken, she was still a scientist and wanted to know what happened to these unfortunate humans.

The Lieutenant, however, said nothing and pocketed the aforementioned item. Retuning his attention back towards the Master Chief he spoke as if nothing at all had happened.

"Chief, Zee', in here." He mentioned toward the kitchen and walked of with both John and Zee' in tow who were both more than beyond curious now. Even Cortana couldn't find much in the UNSC database. Only that Dr. Sofia Lamb was a noted psychiatrist and vehement altruist. Before Cortana could tell them more, Harvey had stopped in front of a large meat locker door.

"This used to be one of Atlas' safe havens when the civil war was still cloak-and-dagger stuff. I help set this particular one up, it was also one of the few Atlas didn't know about."

"The Pneumo is in there? That seems a little obvious a place to hide something." The Major quipped. Opening the door and found only a solid block of ice obscuring his way.

"Of coarse it's obvious, that's why I put the door behind the freezer. Okay Chief, Zee' you take the right side, and we'll take the left." Once in position, they took any sort of hand hold they could find and heaved. The grating sound of the freezer scraping across the tiled floor was worse than a thousand rusty nails running over a chalkboard, there were even small sparks coming off the bottom. As soon as there was enough room Harvey gave the signal to stop and slipped behind the deceptively heavy appliance.

"Why couldn't that lumbering load of yours move it out of the way?" The Major grunted. There was a loud irritated groan from the outside the doorway and Harvey just laughed before translating for Bittermen.

"Because he says he's got the bigger gun." His voice was muffled from behind the freezer before there was a brief silence in which Harvey opened the Pneumo. "Fuck." Each of their head shot up at the sound of the curse.

"What?" Harvey stuck his hand out from behind the freezer with a simple slip of white paper held in it. John grabbed the note and opened it with a frown. "Dear idiot-"

The Major turned to the Spartan in surprise, "Huh?" John handed him the note.

"It's for you."

**___End of Chapter Four___**

_Afterwards:_

**Please read.**

Hello everyone,

Once again, we apologize for the long wait, but we're having a terminal case of writer's block but we wanted something out before Bioshock 2's soon release. I wanted to let you guy's know that it'll be a while yet before we scrape together the money for the sequel so please be patient with us, but we are planning a sequel to Halo: Rapture. It'll be out once this is finished, and we have played Bioshock 2 at least, say, 50...million times.

Also, for those of you who voted, I'm sorry to say that all stories are on hold until we play the sequels; this includes the Halo/Dead Space crossover. The sequel to Dead Space (for those of you who don't know) was announced (with no release date, unfortunately), and we don't want to do anything with it until we play the far off sequel. We wish to be able to write a sequel to Halo/Dead Space eventually so we feel we'd better play the sequel before doing anything with it.

The Mass Effect crossovers are also on hold until we scrounge up the money for Mass Effect 2. So, sorry if this disappoints anyone, but we feel this is for the best.

Hopefully, we'll be finished with Halo: Rapture soon though so we can move on to other projects.

Sincerely,

KTHM and a Mortified Mind

P.S. The Flashbacks in this chapter are dedicated to reviewer: _Alex Romanov_. I had written the flashback at the beginning of this chapter long before we received your review but you encouraged us to elaborate with more flashbacks.

**Thank you, to all our reviewers! You guys are the greatest! You encouraged us to keep writing even when we didn't feel like it. This chapter is dedicated to you. **

**-KTHM and a Mortified Mind**


	39. Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear to Tread

**Halo: Rapture**

_Act Two: El Dorado is Burning_

Chapter Five: Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear to Tread 

___

_Dear Idiots,_

_I have your precious genetic key, and if you want to stop this city from being nothing more than a footnote on the history of this planet than you might wish to meet me in the Council Chamber in the City Hall. I'll be waiting. See you soon._

_-Mr. Trap_

___

The Major crumpled the note with a snarl that was a combination of anger and frustration. Things just kept getting worse; this town housed the most horrible chain of events that had ever occurred in his entire life. His eyes drifted towards the ceiling as he tried to list a single good thing that had happened in the last week or so...he could now see out of his injured eye (albeit a little blurry). However, that didn't particularly count considering his eye was injured in the city.

"I need a drink." Were the first words out of the Lt. Harvey's mouth when he finally came out from behind the freezer with two black duffel bags over his shoulders, which were then unceremoniously dumped on the filthy floor.

"As do I." The Major agreed watching Harvey making his way back towards the bar. John frowned deeply from behind his helmet; this life was just getting better and better. He was ready for a break of some kind. John sighed, there's no rest for the wicked.

"What now?" Zee' asked as she removed a struggling Hecate from her bag. The pink fluff ball looked beyond annoyed and John thought it wise to ease away while he still could. Harvey was busy unscrewing the cap off of some bottle of Arcadia Merlot.

Harvey poured two glasses up to the brim and passed one over to the Sangheili with practiced ease. The lieutenant downed his glass in one go before answering Zee'. "Screw this stealth shit, we haven't been able to sneak pass 'em yet so I say we do things the Chief's way."

"If we're doing that, I don't want to be sober." Was all the Major answered as he pushed his empty glass towards Harvey.

"Don't you think that is a little...eccentric?" Zee' asked anxiously while she quietly despaired over her adopted brother's new drinking habit.

"No Zee'. You're eccentric. This calls for excessive. Look, they'll be expecting us ta carry on as we have so let's shake things up a bit." Harvey put down his glass and walked over to a pair of video phones opposite of the bar.

"Chief, one of those bags has the ammo we'll need and the other has the weapon I'll be using. Just place it on the bar."

"What are you doing?" The Major asked reaching for a bottle of Moonbeam Absinthe, before Zee' slapped his wrist.

"I need to make a phone call." He replied casually as he took out a small tablet computer then plugging it in to the side of the phone system. While the Lieutenant was busy with that the Chief kneeled down and opened the bags.

True to Harvey's word, there was a small platoons worth in ordnance, ammo and a teddy bear. John removed the bear and opened the back, inside was an Audio Diary Chip with a note attached.

_Dear Mr. Ryan,_

_I found this and I wanted you to have it because it might come in handy. _

_-Your Avid Fan._

John frowned deeply as he tried to recollect if he had met anyone that might have sent this before shaking his head and inserting the Audio Diary.

___

_Dr. Yi Suchong:_

_Initial Deployment, Vita-Chamber/Client Ryan Industries. Stage one is complete. Sinclair and Alexander tried to explain the science to me, but Suchong does not believe them. They keep saying plasmid reconstruction this and quantum entanglement that, and then poof, dead people come back to life. Bullshit! Of course, Ryan says it's far too expensive to be a viable mainstream product so it will never be seen on the market. But Suchong hear things, they say Sinclair has prototype all to himself..._

___

_'Resurrection? Really? Sounds like a more advanced version of flash cloning. I wonder just how well it worked? Too bad Ryan didn't want to dish out the credits for it.' _Cortana mused just loud enough for John to pick up.

Without answering he placed that aside and then opened the other bag which was strangely lighter than the other. Inside was a long black case with no distinguishing marks with quadruple cylinder locks on the side.

'_Definitely ONI craftsmanship, there should be a small…. Aha, there. Put your hand on the either side of the case.'_ The Chief, did as he was instructed even though he had no clue what Cortana was going to do. There was a small pause then a familiar jolt went through his arm when ever she passed from his suit to a terminal. The locks spun counterclockwise then the case lid opened slightly and mercury soon filled his mind again.

'Cortana, how did you-'

'_I'm connected to your mind so is the suit. This isn't quantum mechanics Chief.' _John let it go in favor of inspecting the contents of the case.

Inside was one of the rarest weapons in the UNSC's arsenal. A Hard Sound Rifle. The Chief had never seen one himself, only heard about through his friend Linda-058. She was practically drooling when she had told him the details on the weapon system. It was a type of sonic rifle that had an extremely long range, had an instant fatality rate due to cerebral hemorrhage and left no outward signs of penetration. It was the preferred weapon of ONI assassins, something the Chief expected the Lieutenant to have with him. It was oddly more compact than most sniper rifles he had seen. A large cylindrical scope was placed atop a two foot long amplifier that must act as the body of the weapon, and the barrel made up for most of the rifle at least a yard in length yet, was as thin as a straw.

On the stock of the weapon was the name: **Mordecai**, in bold gold letters with dark red borders.

'_It's his style alright.' _Cortana murmured. The Chief nodded in agreement but then started to dispense the ammo.

On the other side of the room Harvey was busily punching in a series of numbers into the video phone waiting for the proper response before punching in another set and waited. There was a screech then a long beep when a steady dial tone giving him the signal to speak.

"Carte Blanche." The Lieutenant whispered into the phone then waited. A moment later an impassive woman's voice filled the receiver yet, the video display remained blank.

"_Do you enjoy the Opera? Faust was always my favorite." _The voice asked with a jaded edge.

"No. I prefer Film Noir." Harvey replied slightly annoyed as he leaned against the wall in a bored fashion as he drummed his fingers above the phone box.

"_Oh, then what was The Maltese Falcon?" _The voice continued in the same flat tone.

"The stuff dreams are made of." He waited patiently before the voice came back on the line in a stiff business like fashion.

"_Voice print and confirmation code accepted. Welcome back agent Paladin. You have failed to check in approximately -"_

"I know, damn it! Listen Medea, I need ya to see if ya can get into the traffic cameras. I have to know what's ahead."

_"Working...Approximately, twenty Splicers are waiting at the corner of Nyx Boulevard and Erebus Way. Five more are stationed on the steps of the Council Building. A few groups are warming themselves over trash fires along Helios Drive-"_

"Thank you, that'll be enough. Keep up the good work." He hung up the phone and looked over the group, "Chief, take point, the rest of us will follow." John nodded and walked towards the exit.

"Harvey, I'm afraid that I have to tell you, I am not a marathon runner." Zee' answer wearily while she let Hecate jump out of her arms.

"Which is why Bittermen and I'll bring up the rear to ensure no one falls behind. Don't worry; we've got your back. Chief, my Mordecai if you please." John tossed the Hard Sound Rifle at Harvey, who caught it perfectly out of the air.

"Right, on your marks get set, RUN LIKE HELL!" John and the Major were out the door with Hecate hot on their heels, literally. If either of them slowed down, she attempted to bite their feet, which was more than enough motivation. They could hear Zee' a few feet behind them, trying to pretend that there was no Splicers waiting to ambush them. There was no sign of Bittermen or Harvey but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't there. Once they were one block away from Nyx Boulevard. Harvey's voice came over the comm. channel.

"_Alright, here's the plan. There're about twenty Splicers waiting for us past a makeshift barricade. Chief, you and Zee' will spring 'their' trap. Me and the Major will flank providing sniper fire for anyone watching for the roofs or windows. Bittermen will plow through and make a hole for us once he does we break for nothing. Not for Little Sister bake sales, kittens, or lunatics with meat hooks and bad tempers, we keep going."_

"How do you know exactly that Splicers are waiting for us?" The Major muttered gruffly jumping over a fallen pillar.

"I don't see anything on my motion tracker." The Chief remarked quietly while watching the many windows surrounding them, he could feel that someone was watching them.

"_Here." _Harvey said heaving himself over a toppled statue of Tyche. Bittermen simply smacked it out of his way like a raging bull. The Chief's visor blinked and he saw a live video screen pop up on the far right corner. It showed the barricade Harvey mentioned, mostly bits of marble and supporting I-beams. Three trash cans with fresh burning flames lit the area, various bits of debris littered the district, along with several corpses littering the streets or propped against the walls.

"_Now look at the thermal." _Harvey continued. The screen changed showing the same street but revealing different results. The streets were a deep blue almost black, the trash cans showed a dull red, yet, all but five bodies showed up bright yellowish orange.

"Who is sending this footage?" The Major asked.

"_Medea. And for now, that's all you need to know." _

"I wish we had more of a plan."" The Chief said thinking of all the little things that could go wrong with such a loose, slipshod plan. Normally, he would never contradict a superior officer. However, the realist in him was screaming for a more well thought-out strategy.

"_So do I Chief. But, hey! Look at it this way, things could be worse ya know." _Harvey replied wryly.

"How so?" John asked skeptically.

'_He does know we could all die depending on what we do in the next hour right?' _Cortana questioned.

"_Well…you could be back on Earth, living off a nice pension on a secluded island somewhere. With beautiful wanton women with no sense self respect shamelessly throwing themselves at you. No more risking your life in foolish ventures only to find out later it didn't matter because some moron screwed up on their end. No more thankless chores. No more… well you get the idea. Now don't you feel better now you're here?"_

"….Yeah." John responded stoically.

"_Great! That's the spirit Chief! Now let's go get those Spliced up maniacs!" _The Lieutenant enthused then started whistling 'What Do We Do With A Drunken Sailor?' There was a sudden pause in his whistling, "If you don't start running this instant, I'm going to find a way to convince Hecate your blood tastes like barbecue sauce." He continued whistling cheerfully as Zee' and John looked at each other before taking off in the direction of the Council Building.

The two couldn't help but grip their weapons tighter as they reached the crossing for Nyx Boulevard and Helios Drive. _"Alright guys go take a right down Nyx Boulevard, next street over should be Erebus Way, the Council Building will be on the corner." _Harvey's voice came over the radio followed by a grunt of exertion. "Hold on before going into the trap for the Major and I to get into position...Bittermen should be right behind you."

Zee' and John retreated into the an abandoned office building as they waited for the go ahead from the ONI operative

___

The Major hoisted himself onto a roof top on a deserted lawyers' building and quickly scanned the ground below for any sign of his compatriots. It certainly didn't take long to see a glint of light shinning off of Zee's armor and watched as they backed into the building across the street from him.

He grunted in annoyance as Hecate suddenly jumped onto his shoulder and began sniffing the air with interest. The Major rolled his eyes before opening a communication channel and told the human lieutenant that he was as ready as he would ever be.

___

Harvey shut off the radio and continued up the latter with one hand still firmly gripping Mordecai. He was four rungs higher when his radio crackled on again and the Major's voice came through. Harvey resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance before he answered in a clipped voice and continuing to a higher floor of the roof-scraper. A roof-scraper was a building in Rapture that was the closest thing to a sky-scraper that someone could find in the underwater city.

A few more floors and he'd be in an out of the way position to effectively use Mordecai.

___

_"Go!" _And they were off with John in the lead and Zee' right behind him as they sped down Nyx Boulevard. They were a quarter down the street when a male Splicer screeched at the top of his lungs.

**"NOW!" **Suddenly, the glass along the office buildings exploded and Spider Splicers began crawling out of the windows.

John tossed a grenade towards the building across the street while pushing Zee' in front of him and continuing on. In the corner of his eye, he could see bolts from the Major's Beam Rifle shooting Splicers that dared to come to close to them.

A roar from Bittermen called nearby followed closely by Splicers screaming in pain as the Big Daddy threw them into buildings as he charged into the chaos.

___

The Major cursed as his Beam Rifle overheated but was careful to keep a sharp eye on his sister and comrade. Hecate hissed and growled as she watched before she suddenly leapt from her perch on his shoulder and attacked the Spider Splicers that were crawling up the roof to attack them.

He yanked out his Energy Sword and stabbed the closest Splicer through the chest.

___

A Splicer flew at Zee', and she could only watch as it suddenly dropped dead in mid air and she jumped over the tumbling corpse without breaking pace.

John ducked a barrage of fire balls and quickly returned fire, just as he nearly tripped on the corpse that flew by Zee'. Stumbling, he pushed her onward and saw the Beam Rifle shots suddenly being fired around them once again.

If he were to glance over his shoulder, he would have seen the purple light coming from the Major's Beam Rifle.

___

The Major growled as he kneeled down near the edge of the roof to gain more stability and continued to cover the two rabbits as Zee's pet covered him. All he could do in this situation was ignore the sound of the pink fir ball eating the Splicer's foolish enough to attempt to attack them.

He glanced up as his rifle cooled down and tried to locate the lieutenant but all he found were Splicers and corpses. However, that didn't stop some of the Splicers around the Spartan and Zee' from falling dead for, apparently, no reason.

Spook indeed.

That was when a hand suddenly wrapped around his neck, and he was yanked off of the roof. An unbidden cry of surprise left his mouth as he began his tumble to the streets face first. Suddenly, there were shrieks of pain and horror followed shortly by hums and whirrs of machines.

The Major gave his own grunt of pain as a crack was heard from his ribs and bones as he fell, chest first, into the suddenly decloaked Sentinel. He immediately gripped onto the Sentinel as it attempted to right itself from the impact before a shield activated around them and took off down the street towards the Council Building.

Ar'Deeth couldn't believe his sudden luck!

___

John's head shot up and he took in the sight of the Major waving to him as he sped by atop a shielded Sentinel. "Get back here you traitor! Whatever happened to watching our backs?!" John called after the Sangheili, who simply cackled serenely as he disappeared down the street.

More Sentinels appeared and began cutting through the crazed Splicers, who switched their targets to the floating robots. The two runners took advantage of the distraction and picked up pace down the street.

They were briefly taken by surprise when Bittermen suddenly rammed passed in a likeness of an old football quarterback and drill in front, impaling unlucky Splicers. Zee' could just barely make out the pink fir of her pet held safely and securely in Bittermen's free hand.

Out of nowhere, from high in the sky, Harvey dropped onto Bittermen's shoulders and held on as the Big Daddy continued.

"What are ya guys waiting for? An engraved invitation? Move your ass before Atlas recalls the Sentinels!" Harvey called gesturing vaguely towards the Council Building.

___

John slammed the large double doors open and the minute everyone was in the building, he dragged a bench over and pushed it against the door while Zee' and the Major began throwing whatever was moveable in front of the entrance to form a makeshift barricade. Ashtrays, benches, vending machines, litter, garbage cans and finally the secretary desk that was so heavy it required both the Major, John and Zee' to lift it. All the while, Harvey and Bittermen watched in fascination.

Once the three were out of breath and trying to recover Harvey looked over at the Big Daddy by his side, "Uh, Bittermen, if you would..." There was a groan in response and the Big Daddy walked over to a panel on the wall and flipped a switch. There was a hum and a blue shield ignited around the door.

"Why didn't you-" The Major began but was cut off.

"Didn't give me a chance to-" Suddenly, a look of surprise flashed across Harvey's face as dart stuck into the side of Harvey's neck. He looked in the direction of where the dart came from and yelled, "IT'LL TAKE A LOT MORE THAN THAT TO-" Three more darts came from the darkness of the hallway leading to the council chamber and Harvey blinked twice before swaying. "Sorry guys, you're on your own." He murmured thickly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body hit the ground boneless.

Bittermen was immediately at his friend's side and Zee' was already digging out her medical equipment from her duffle. While the Bid Daddy picked up Harvey with one arm and walked off towards the restrooms, John and the Major were grabbing their weapons and heading cautiously towards the council chamber. Hecate followed the males and they quickly gave up on trying to shoo her away.

John nudged the door open and peered inside. The chamber was circular in shape with a high arched ceiling and dim lights that would occasionally flicker. At the oval table, the six bodies of ex-council members were still in their seat, their corpses partially decayed. The long expired remnants of an obvious poisoned dinner still in place before them and in the empty chairs of those four who had gotten out alive.

There wasn't a sign of anyone.

Tensed and completely alert the two (plus Hecate) walked cautiously into the room. John was just about to examine one of the corpses when they heard a series of clicks that sounded as if they were made by human teeth. The Chief switched on his VISR but found it scrambled, even his motion tracker was out. He took another step into the room and there was a buzz and a yellow flash before alarms sounded in his helmet.

_'Great. He's got an electronic jammer.' _Cortana stated out loud for the Major to hear. A high pitched whistling pierced the stale air even without the aid of the VISR; the Chief knew the sound of a low-grade grenade coming toward them. The Chief and the Major ducked behind one of the tall pillars, hoping the explosion would keep the second floor from collapsing on top of them.

"....what are you doing?" The Chief turned to face the Major, who had picked up Hecate and was holding her outstretched in front of him.

"Hush Demon, I think it can smell him. Just ready yourself." The Major slowly began to direct her towards the different areas of the room when she suddenly began to hiss and growl angrily.

The Chief immediately began firing in the general direction and feel a rush of satisfaction when he sees blood is drawn. The figure that had been hiding via the Tonic Natural Camouflage, jumped down and landed on the old Council table.

Landing with the grace of a cat on all fours atop of the table with enough force to destabilize his Camouflage, the Chief even without the aid of the VISR could only see Mr. Trap with his already enhanced night vision. The fiend had a lean figure, wearing little more than tattered rags. His hairless skin was like rough tanned hide marred with tattoos and scars. What stood out the most though were his sharp and unwavering opalescent black eyes. They looked like a shark that was going in for the kill.

His pierced aquiline nose took a deep sniff of the air and before the Chief could fire a shot, he leapt into the air and behind the Arcadia speaker's table on the other side of the room, out of range.

Muttering a quick curse the Major and John moved slowly towards his position. However, as the pair drew closer a loud buzzing sound drifted through the chamber.

"Major, whatever you do, don't panic."

"Now why would I-" The buzzing got closer and the Major froze at the familiar sound from his encounter with Arthur Cussler in Fort Frolic. "BEES!" The swarm descended on the Major, who immediately dropped Hecate.

John moved to help the panicking Sangheili when his shields flared for a moment then there was a faint hissing before the Spike Grenade detonated. Although John remained on his feet he was left slightly dazed, just long enough to be thrown to the ground and his weapon flew from his hand. A cry fell from his mouth as he tried to struggle out of the choke hold the Splicer had on him. A hand grabbed his helmet and bashed it into the stone floor.

John jerked his arm and elbowed the Splicer in the jaw. The Splicer clicked his teeth together in anger before John heard the tell-tale sound of a blade being removed from a sheath.

Suddenly, there was a feral growl and the weight of the Splicer was abruptly gone with a wordless scream of pain. John jumped to his feet and dived for his Assault Rifle before spinning around to face the Splicer.

Hecate had bitten off its left hand and the two were now circling each other. In the Splicer's remaining hand was a rusted, bloody machete and the one Hecate had bitten off was already a healed over stub. The Splicer gave John a blood thirsty grin, displaying his finely sharpened yellow teeth and the small bits of flesh stuck in-between left little doubt as to what happened to the people in the restaurant.

Mr. Trap waved his hand in a circular motion and a gust of wind hit the Chief in the chest, and he found himself flying across the room and hitting the opposite wall. Just as he hit the ground again, Hecate was thrown at him and landed in a heap on his lap.

When John's head quit spinning, and he regained his bearings he discovered both the Major and Mr. Trap's absence. Hecate leapt off John's lap with a feral growl sniffing the air. There was a gurgle of pain behind the Neptune's Bounty's representatives' table. Leaping over the table, he found the Major on the verge of death. Several deep gashes covered his ruined, bloodied armor; his shallow rasping breath was the only sign of life in his broken body. John was quickly at his side…when the image evaporated into a fine mist.

"What the hell?"

_'A target dummy.' _Cortana mused.

"Demon! Get Down!" The real Major called from somewhere out of sight. Rolling out of the way of a grenade before it exploded demolishing the table into a thousand splinters. Once back on his feet the Major ran over to his side, his Energy Sword firmly in hand watching the shadows.

"Demon, I saw the key. It is attached to a sack around his waist. I tried to grab it but, that thing is faster than he looks." The Chief saw Hecate bounce toward a fallen burned portrait on the far side of the chamber sniffing with interest.

"Major…"

"I see it Demon, you grab the key, and I will kill him….slowly." The Major sunk into the shadows and out of John's view. John could feel the eyes of his other stalker.

"Come out; come out, wherever you are." The Chief taunted. His singsong voice echoing throughout the council chamber. As he got closer to Hecate, he looked at her cautiously its deep pink eyes blinked one by one observing something behind him. He heard Trap's feet lightly step on some broken glass.

Quickly calculating the distance, he spun around and butted the end of his rifle right into his solar plexus, sending him to the ground in a silent immeasurable amount of pain. Trap, though stunned had enough presence of mind to, at the very least, try and kill John before he did the same to him. Despite his express orders, his owner gave.

As Mr. Trap reached for the last of his grenades, a swift blinding light passed before his eyes and pierced his stomach, nailing him to the floor. The Major gave a firm twist of the Energy Sword and was satisfyingly assured that the Splicer wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Suddenly, Hecate dashed forward and stole the key off of Trap's corpse and disappeared out of the room and down the hall. "Get back here you pink devil!" The Major yelled while shaking his free fist in the air.

John merely groaned before taking off after the animal.

___

"Hecate! Where have you been?" Zee' exclaimed as her pet jumped into her arms. "What do you have there?" She asked as Hecate dropped the key into her hand. "You got the key! Well, aren't you just a little hero! Yes you are, yeessss you are!" Hecate purred contently as Zee' bestowed attention on her.

It was then that, out of breath, John and the Major pushed the bathroom door open. "Chief look, Hecate found McDonagh's council key." Harvey said as he swallowed a few pills and drank from the sink tap water before turning to face the two.

The Major bashed his head against the wall in disgust before spinning around and leaving. The Chief glared at the animal in Zee's arms before looking at the recovering Harvey. "Don't we have a self-destruct to shut off?" Harvey closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath before nodding and replacing his helmet and making his way out of the restroom.

They stepped into the lobby and Harvey led them to the hallway across from the one that led to the Council Chamber. _'The lieutenant doesn't look at all well, does he?' _Cortana murmured in John's head, and he couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The two very much doubted Trap kept only sedatives in those darts, even if they were, he took four to the neck. Bittermen seemed to also be worried because he was keeping close to his slightly stumbling friend.

"It should be behind that plaque in Ryan's office." Harvey pointed to the door at the far end of the hall.

"Here you'll also need this." The lieutenant handed John a small red data crystal. "It's the confirmation response codes of the other council members." Before the Chief could ask Harvey gave him wry grin.

"Spy, remember?" The lieutenant and the Chief made their way through the dilapidated office quickly and over to the plaque behind Ryan's chair with an inscription that read.

'The chain of industry ties and unites us. The Great Chain is guided by our hand.'

John ripped the plaque off the wall without ceremony and a hatch opened inside reviling a simple laptop in sleeper mode. As John moved to boot it up a polite but, luridly, chipper, male voice well befitting a receptionist spoke through the speakers.

"_Good morning Sir! And what can I do for you today?" _

'_I'm sick of him already.' _Cortana muttered.

"I need to shut down the city's self destruct."

"_Sir-" _John ignored the voice and placed the genetic key into the slot marked: disarm. And placed the data crystal into its respective unit and waited for some sort of signal. None however, came.

"Why didn't work?" Harvey asked weakly coming up behind the Chief.

"_Sirs, if I may so humbly interject? While you have followed proper protocols, the self destruct program is NOT currently active." _

"You better be fucking kidding!" Harvey yelled, his voice echoing sharply throughout the room. A wicked cackle resonated back throughout the council chamber in response.

"_Oh! You have two new messages…Mr. Ryan?" _The Voice continued in a bewildered tone. Not comprehending the currant situation.

"What?" John snapped in exasperation. The screen on the laptop changed to a message board.

"_First Message from, an unknown caller: Just yanking your Great Chain. However, now that I have your undivided attention. Look out the window._

_Much love,_

_-Silhouette"_

They gazed out the office window and saw that torches had been lit illuminating dozens of Splicers watching them from the street.

_"Second Message from, Rapture Superintendent: Isn't Ryan's secretary AI the most annoying non-sentient life in the universe, but I digress. By the time you get this you'll probably have figured out the Self Destruct message was false. But I just thought I'd let you know, there's an army of Splicers waiting for you outside. So, if I were you, I'd want to book it to Fontaine's House for the Poor, best defendable location in Hemera Commons. The Shogun is waiting there. _

_God be with you,_

_-Atlas_

_P.S. I'll understand if I don't hear from you."_

**___****End of Chapter Five****___**

_Afterwards:_

I know, I know. This chapter is the epitome of crapola but there's a reason for that. Let me show you the formulas.

No reviews=lack of morale. Low morale=procrastination. Procrastination and even lower morale=bad quality.

Reviews=high morale. Abundance of morale=quick updates and good quality.

See the system. You want quality you review to give us a reason to write. Without having a reason, we scrape the bottom of the barrel. Even a few words in a review helps a lot.

You guys have no idea how many times we thought of simply giving up on this story but because of the people who do review, we've kept at it for them.

Moving on, you'll notice there wasn't a flashback and that will most likely continue, unless there's something important we need to address.

By the way, this chapter is technically Part Two of the last chapter, but since it got so long we had to break it up.

____**Only continue reading if you're a Borderlands fan**____

The name of the Hard Sound Rifle was an Easter egg for those of you who are Borderland fans, I hope you liked it.

Speaking of Borderlands, something really weird happened to us when we were playing Co-op. Mortified Mind decided to name his newest Brick character, Mr. B. First play through, we find (between us) the usual number of orange weapons (super rare weapons) for the average playthrough (two or three). Second playthrough, only half way through and he discovers over fifteen orange weapons. Hell, he even found a Maliwan Volcano Sniper Rifle in a Skag pile! A Skag pile! Here's a brief list of the weapons he found: 2 Maliwan Combustion Hellfires, 2 Vladof Fearsome Surkovs (regular and static), 2 BLR Swatters (one light orange, the other dark), Torgue Friendly Fire, Maliwan Volcano, 3 Maliwan Rhinos (2 static (1 dark, one light orange), 1 Corrosive), Tediore Guardian, Dahl Hornet, S&S Gemini, Torgue Violator, Dahl Anaconda, Tediore Equalizer, Maliwan Corrosive Crux, Dahl Penetrator (Corrosive). I'm not sure if the name Mr. B is some sort of code or this was simply extraordinary luck, but damn!

Sorry, for digressing but we really don't have a lot to say about this chapter, so we're simply filling up the Author's Notes with random stuff.

Sincerely,

_-KTHM and a Mortified Mind_


	40. Interlude: Shady Characters

**Halo: Rapture**

_Act Two: El Dorado Is Burning_

Interlude: Of Shady Characters and Unscrupulous Agendas

___

Far away from the commotion in the City Hall was a small room, lit only by the glow of various computer monitors and faint light coming from glowing sea slugs attached to the outside of the room's window. The only occupant of the room gave the slugs a look that seemed to say that he wasn't sure whether to respect the seemingly simple creatures, burn every one he came across, or sell them to the highest bidder.

His existence seemed to be a conflicted mess lately. Unable to choose between acting on his feeling of anger and despair at what the city (and his life) had become and help Harvey and Ryan's heir free the city from those that wished to destroy it even more than it already was. Alternatively, he could also go for his usual plan of self-preservation (that had become something of a first nature) and get the hell out of dodge before the eggs went into the proverbial scramble for the umpteenth (and probably final) time.

He had never been this indecisive in his entire life, it was a new experience and one he didn't care for.

The man let out a sigh and made a quick affirmative noise into the receiver of the phone before setting it down. He lent forward and typed a few commands onto one of the various computers in front of him before leaning back in his chair and looking out the window, ignoring the countdown that appeared on one of the screens.

With ol'Andy gone and Alexander having run off hand in hand with the Family, he was left with few options and even fewer allies. Especially with Lamb and Silhouette having gotten buddy, buddy. Things didn't bode well for any who opposed them or got in their way.

Though the only reason he cared about their 'hit list' was because he was positive he was pretty high up on it.

At the very least he knew their alignment couldn't last. The two were both manipulative bitches that would obviously go behind each other's backs and sooner or later one will end up accidentally digging their own grave. But unfortunately when one went down the other would only get stronger for it. Andy's El Dorado would truly burn that day...so to speak.

When the going gets tough, the tough hide under the table.

With a frown, he typed a command into one of the computers and security footage appeared displaying a downed Pelican. It was trashed by a combination of reentry, the ocean and Splicers but sadly, it was the best hope he had.

It would certainly take time but at this point...

Andy's oldest seemed to have the unique ability of forwarding other people's agenda. It's a wonder he survived so long.

Suddenly, a sly smirk moved across his lips as he leaned back in his chair with a satisfied air. He couldn't say his escape plan was ideal or time efficient but his other plans...His eyes swept over the screen of a data pad that he picked up lazily from his desk.

Well, let's just say that things were starting to look up.

___**END INTERLUDE**___

_**PLEASE READ!**_

Sorry!

We swear we're working on the next chapter, but we got _Mass Effect 2 _and that kind of side tracked us…okay, it side tracked us a _lot_. **BUT **we're both finished with one play through of it, and now we are refocusing our attention on the story. We swear!

We just whipped this interlude up on the fly to give us an excuse to apologize for neglecting the story and to thank everyone who reviewed. Unfortunately, we're too lazy to name you guys individually, but I think you know who you are. Thanks!

We think it's pretty obvious who it is in this chapter and rest assured this'll most probably be the only time you actually see him until the sequel _AND_, Lamb (though mentioned) will not be in this story. We're saving just about everything from _Bioshock 2 _for our sequel.

While we're on this subject, we're probably not going to follow the _Bioshock 2 _plotline and make up our own instead. We just, at this point, can't mix the game into our current storyline. So, we hope this doesn't disappoint anyone.

Please note: We do not currently own _Bioshock 2_. We cheated and looked things up on the _Bioshock Wiki _site. We'll probably get it for KTHM's birthday in mid April. So, yeah.

One last thing, we didn't actually think anyone would like this story, so we only planned in detail up until Ryan's office. We only had a basic premise down for Olympus Heights and beyond. So, right now we're sort of making up individual chapter as we go along. This also means we don't really have much for the sequel. We're trying to plan it out but, well, we'll see.

_Thank you guys again for reading and reviewing. _We swear we'll try harder in the future.

Sincerely,

KTHM and A Mortified Mind


	41. Pied Piper of The Damned

**Halo: Rapture**

_Act Two: El Dorado Is Burning_

Chapter Six: Pied Piper of The Damned

___

They ducked down under the window as the hoard of Splicers caught sight of them. Harvey gave a long suffering sigh before he crawled away from the window and towards Ryan's desk. "I need to make a phone call." He stated as the others grabbed their respective weapons.

_"Sir, Mr. Ryan's phone is not intended for public use." _

"Shove it!" He grabbed the desk phone while he crawled under the desk for makeshift cover as a Molotov cocktail broke through the window and landed on the carpeted floor. As Zee' poured water from the Cooler (located conveniently beside the door) on the fire, he dialed in a familiar set of numbers. "Medea, listen. I need you to get a secure line to You-know-who at the You-know-where." Harvey paused as he listened to the AI on the other end. "No, my poker buddy... Yeah him. 'Kay, I'll wait."

He drummed his fingers on the side of the desk while the Major began picking off various Splicers before they could throw more objects into the room. Harvey gave John a brief side glance before tossing him Mordecai, so he could assist the Major in sniping. The minute John caught the Hard Sound Rifle; Harvey ducked down under the desk again as a sniper shot in his direction from the street. John quickly retaliated and Bittermen moved to cover the Lieutenant.

A moment later, the other three could barely hear Harvey's side of the conversation over the commotion from the Splicers. "Hiya Gus, guess who! Listen, I know I shouldn't be calling you, but I'm in a bit of a jam... No, the Splicer gang kind. I'd hate to call in a favor but, well, ya know... Mhhmmm... You know the City Hall... Right, of course you do. That's where we are and-" Harvey glanced in their direction. "It's not that important who I'm with, is it? Fine. Bittermen, Ryan's kid, a Fuchsia Raptor, and two aliens... Yeah... No, her brother... Uh huh, the dead one...Great! Thanks a lot!" Harvey then hung up the phone as Zee' dumped more water on cocktail fires.

"Okay, I gotta way to get us to Fontaine's Center for the Poor, an ol' friend of mine is gonna set off a preplaced distraction. We're gonna have to get ready to leave on the signal. Don't worry; we're going to stealth it this time." As he explained this, he watched Zee' actually grab a Molotov cocktail in mid air and throw it back before grabbing several of the bricks that littered carpeted floor and tossed them out of the broken windows. Scream from the streets below indicated that she scored direct hits.

Harvey placed his hands on Ryan's oak desk and tried to push the desk out of the way but ended up having a coughing fit for his trouble before nearly passing out. Harvey waved his hand at Bittermen and gestured at the desk.

The Big Daddy groaned and effortlessly pushed the desk out of the way to reveal a trapdoor. "Chief, open it." The Chief, who had been watching as more Splicers appeared (this time with battering rams and hacking tools), pulled away from the troubling sight and assessed the newly revealed door.

"Dare I ask who 'Gus' is?" John asked as he kneeled down and placed a hand against the metal door. There was a familiar flash of gold and purple before the lock whirred and opened.

"Give me back Mordecai...to answer your question: probably not." Harvey answered weakly, one hand holding his ribcage, as he eyed the new staircase. He was about to step on it when Bittermen suddenly grabbed him and tossed him over his shoulder before proceeding down the stairs, ignoring his friend's protests. The others quickly followed behind.

___

John stepped into the alley first, cautiously looking around to make sure everything was clear before gesturing for the others to follow. The trap door had led down a long steep hallway, not fit for those prone to claustrophobia. The secret hallway then led to a door that hid seamlessly against the alley wall two buildings from the City Hall.

They crept as silently as they could down the graffiti covered alley before crouching behind a set of dumpsters and garbage cans while the Major climbed up a fire escape ladder and used his Beam Rifle to get a better look at the Splicers.

The hoard was, luckily, still trying to force their way into the City Hall and had no clue that they had left. Good. Suddenly there was a loud siren that could be heard all over the district and a prerecorded message in Atlas' voice came over the loud speaker system.

**"Attention citizens, this is Rapture Superintendent AI! A Type One ceiling fracture has been detected. Please, calmly proceed in an orderly fashion to emergency access tunnels to be evacuated from the area. Remain calm, pumps and specialist teams have been alerted. Repeat: A Type One Ceiling fracture has been detected. Please, calmly proceed in an orderly fashion to emergency access tunnels to be evacuated from the area. Remain calm, pumps and specialist teams have been alerted."**

Like magic, the Splicers panicked and chaos took hold. Their leader trying his best to get them back under control, with little success.

Not wasting a moment, they slipped into the sudden panicking crowd and ran down the street as the message continued to repeat over the loud speaker every few seconds. At one point, John lost sight of Harvey and the others but Cortana was quick to set a NAV point on his HUD.

He charged through the crowd, knocking down any in his path. Any Splicer who had the presence of mind to actually realize who he was couldn't rally enough support in the chaos to take him down. He took them out without pausing, his stride.

John forced his way against the crowd for a few more moments before he was suddenly shoved against a building wall by several large Splicers that looked like they ate steroids everyday for breakfast. The heavily muscled Splicers didn't seem to notice him and simply followed the rest of the crowd out of the area.

'John I think you need to get out of the street. This is becoming ridiculous.' Cortana stated urgently and John quickly located a small set of stone stairs that led into the building he had been pushed against.

He jumped up the stairs and shoved the door open before locking and barricading it behind him. Once the wooden bench was securely in front of the door, John turned to get a look at the deserted building.

In the center of the room stood a half-circle secretary desk that was built into the floor and on the wall, high above the desk, were large letters spelling out: _'VOX POPULI, HOME OFFICE'_. Slightly, under that was the slogan: _'We are Rapture's voice, we are Your voice.'_

To the far left of the desk was a stylish elevator that looked as if it was still in working order. John, without pause, dashed over to the elevator and pressed the call button as he tried to ignore the deafening shouting of the crowd outside of the building.

He also ignored the nagging question as to why the building was empty.

The elevator made a cheery sound as the decorative glass door opened and the Chief stepped in and pressed the appropriate button to take him to the very top floor. The fourth floor, he discovered after stepping off the elevator, was dedicated to management and top editors.

A door at the end of the hall caught his enhanced vision. **DIANE MCCLINTOCK, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF**. He blinked and glanced around slowly before curiosity got the better of him, and he made his way over to his step-mother's office. The Splicers didn't know where he was, and it was better to wait for the crowd to thin out a little outside, anyway.

John found the plain door locked, but it wasn't hard to break it down so it wasn't much of a problem. The office had a fluffy sky blue carpet with white walls that were adorned with various photographs, paintings, and awards. The only object on Diane's desk was an expensive looking computer that looked as if it hadn't been touched in a while.

Hesitantly, he switched it on and sat down at the desk before carefully pulling open the drawers. The right side drawers contained things like rubber bands, paper clips, data crystals and other objects you'd expect to find in an office. The left side drawers contained more personal belonging.

John stared at the worn photo album laying alone in a single drawer before he removed it and began looking through the pages. The first few pages contained Anna's baby pictures and a scattered few with Ryan. Then he found some with him in it, well, him and Anna and pictures of their father became more frequent. Some pages in, pictures of John disappear completely and Ryan's also dwindle little by little. Anna begins to mature and her smile isn't as radiant as it once was before, suddenly, there are pictures of various places of Rapture when it was still new.

John felt a jolt of surprise when he turns a page and finds a picture of Diane, Anna, and Ryan standing in a dinning room in Ryan Manor. They seemed to be celebrating Anna's graduation from med-school. From what John could tell it was an impromptu picture by an unseen person in the room because the three were laughing at unknown joke while it was being taken. They actually looked like a family there.

The next few pages were dedicated to wedding pictures with Anna and her first husband. His sister had described her ex-husband to John as a stupidly optimistic man who, one day, threw a temper tantrum after having been fired by Ryan Industries and joined Atlas' rebels. Needless to say, the man died on his very first raid. Smashed under a Big Daddy's boot. She never forgave him for leaving her alone to raise her sons.

Speaking of whom, the pictures went on to baby photographs of her twin boys, Alex and Sean. The Chief couldn't stop himself from smiling when he came across a picture of the toddlers pulling on Dr. Harrison's hair and stealing his glasses.

John soon found that was one of the last family pictures in the album but the very last page in the book was a picture of an ecstatic Anna and Harvey standing in Arcadia with wide smiles. She has happy tears in her eyes as she shows off her brand new engagement ring to the camera.

After a few moments, he closes the album and sets it on the desk before looking through the other drawers. He soon discovers a single data crystal with one diary recording on it. While he inserted the data crystal into his helmet he placed his hand on the computer and a flash of gold and purple let him know that Cortana had a made a connection and was soon going through the various files.

___

_"I bribed one of the gorillas at the gate to let me in. It's awful in here... to my right; I can see a dead woman lying in the street... everybody's just walking by her, like she isn't there. But I noticed something, spray-painted everywhere... 'Atlas lives.' I don't know what it means, but something tells me it's important to these people..."_

___

John cringed and ejected the crystal from his helmet before dropping it carelessly back in the desk drawer. Atlas pulled in a lot of people with his lies, and it made him sick to his stomach. The minute Silhouette's threat was gone; he was going to tear out Atlas' circuits. For his step-mother, his sister, his nephews...and his father.

"Anything?" He asked with a sigh as he tried to pull away from his depressing and vengeful thoughts.

_'Newspaper articles that are kind of interesting...hmmm...from what I'm gathering, we might want to head over to Stanley Poole's office. According to Diane's suspicions he was doing some undercover work for your father and someone named Sinclair for a few years. Down the hall.' _Cortana told John as he took out a post-it note and wrote a quick message before attaching it to the photo album and standing from the desk. He quickly punched in the address for Tenenbaum's drop zone into the small Pneumo sitting beside the door before sending the album to Anna. She might want it.

John sighed, took one last look around the office and then opened the door. He froze on the spot when he found what was on the other side.

"Chocolate is better than creamed spinach, Mr. B!" A little sister told her Big Daddy matter-of-fact as she skipped ahead of it. The black haired girl had one hand firmly holding her ADAM needle and the other holding the foot of a teddy bear. The Big Daddy, a Rosie type with red highlights along its suit, was easily keeping up with the girl.

The Chief quickly switched to his camouflage then checked his weapons, cursing under his breath at his lack of Armor-Piercing ammo and this sudden turn of events. With no luck activating his Plasmids, he had no way of saving the Little Sister quickly.

_'We could try just sending her to Tenenbaum. She helped make the Plasmid; she might be able to help her anyway.'_

"True, although I don't want to drag a shrieking little girl through the halls, drawing Splicers as we make our way towards a port hole."

_"Fill (or cure) your cravings at the Circus of Values! Ha ha ha ha ha!" _The loud proclamation of the vending machine at the end of the hall caught both the Chief's and the Little Sisters attention.

"YAY! Can you buy me a Pep Bar, pretty please, Mr. Bubbles?" The Little Sister asked happily while tugging at his massive hand.

The Big Daddy made a low annoyed yet, compliant moan to his young charges request then made its way down the hall and past the Chief.

"Hurry! Hurry Mr. Bubbles! Angels don't wait for slow pokes." The little girl whispered hurriedly taking cautious steps behind her guardian. The Big Daddy stomped towards the vending machine with its massive rivet gun firmly in one hand and reaching into one of its many pouches with the other. The ersatz clown laughed boisterously once the Big Daddy was in proximity to the machine and a long menu appeared, displaying its various items.

The Big Daddy selected an item labeled: Horton's Famous Octo Vitamin Sports Nutrition Bar and placed a small card into the credit reader. Which only caused his young ward to pout with a huff.

"Those taste yucky! I want a Cheeky Bar." Before her guardian could admonish the little girl, the Circus of Values machine turned red and started flashing rapidly.

_"Come back when you have some money, buddy!" _To prove its point, a small bomb dropped into the receiving tray. Without thinking of his own well being, the Big Daddy placed his body between the bomb and the Little Sister just before it exploded.

"GET HER!" Several office doors burst open and horde of Splicers dressed in full riot gear piled out baying for blood.

"Hand her over you fat, fucking whale!" One screeched angrily he threw a homemade grenade at it. The Big Daddy roared as its porthole turned an angry red as it quite literally tossed the little girl behind him and away from the danger of the Splicers. It fired its Rivet Gun and tossed proximity mines and its own grenades with deadly precision as the Splicers swarmed them.

A Splicer suddenly dropped from the ceiling behind the Big Daddy and attempted to grab the girl but the Rosie was faster and managed to crush the Splicer's skull by bringing its elbow down on him. Unfortunately, the Splicer used the distraction to their full advantage and each tossed several grenades at the protector. The makeshift grenades were undoubtedly filled with napalm as the fire spread like liquid and burned so hot that water would only make it worse rather than stopping it.

The Rosie screeched in pain as the Little Sister screamed in horror and John could only watch as this unfolded. It actually looked as if the Splicers would win. Unable to simply let the crazed drug attics take the girl, John stepped forward and fired his Assault rifle as his Camouflage went down and his shield recharged.

The Splicer spun around in surprise at the new addition to the fight and the Big Daddy used their distraction to shoot several in the back before it charged at two others, knocking them to the ground. John used precise burst fire to shoot the downed Splicers in the head, splattering their brains against the carpeted floor.

John lowered his weapon a litter when no more Splicers appeared, and he quickly reloaded as the Sister ran towards the still burning Big Daddy. "Daddy your hurt!" The girl sobbed but the Daddy moved away to stop her from touching his flaming body.

"You killed our buddies you evil fucker!" Two Spider Splicer jumped from the ceiling and quite literally tackled the Rosie and pushed him out of the window. The Little Sister screamed in horror and John's eyes widened in shock as it happened so quickly, and before he could recover the girl had already taken off down the hall and towards the elevator.

"Wait!" But she was already gone.

___

The Little Sister finally managed to make it all the way down to the street where her fallen protector lay prone atop a mound of broken asphalt and equally broken bodies. She climbed to the top of the pile, ignoring the numerous deep cuts as she made her way to her Big Daddy, hoping beyond hope that he was still alive. She got to the top and saw that her hopes were torn cruelly from her once she saw his lifeless body. Throwing herself over him and sobbing into his collapsed chest plate, grieving the loss, wishing they had killed her as well.

The Little Sister suddenly came to an end when she noticed a long shadow cast itself over her. The figure stood tall with a very slim build dressed in a black robe with a veil covering all but a few strands of unwashed dark red hair. Although her body was somewhat languid, its eyes shined with a strange ardor.

The first thing that came to the Little Sister mind was to run as fast as her legs would carry her, however, the more she looked into those eyes the more her bones felt more like lead. The figure kneeled down to the little girl at eye level; an unseen devious smile slowly crossed the Splicers face as the little girl fell deeper under her control, just a few more seconds.

"What is your name little one?"

"L-L-Laura…who are you? What do you want?"

"My name is of little importance." The Splicer responded kindly but sharply. "And, it's not me that wants you little one. But, let me assure you… someone does have big plans for you. Now take my hand and we'll start your new life."

"But, what about Mr. B?"

"He is gone my child. If you wish to kill the ones responsible, then come with me, and you will be one of the most powerful beings in ALL of Rapture." the Little girl took hold of her hands her head filled with thoughts of revenge against those who killed her beloved Big Daddy.

___

John raced down the hall and shoved open the office door to Stanley Poole's office. To say the office was in disarray would be an understatement, it was an absolutely disaster zone. Water was leaking in from hairline cracks in the windows; only cinders remained of papers, the desk and file cabinets. The computer was gutted and there was a broken Chatter smashed in pieces among the rubble. The office was destroyed in every since of the word.

However, in one of the ash piles was a blue butterfly pin. John picked it up and left the building, there was simply nothing left to gain from the newspaper office.

He rode the elevator down to the bottom floor and carefully made his way out the backdoor to the loading area where they ship the papers. John quickly trekked to the Poor House, careful to avoid main roads filled with Splicers.

___

**"**_**You have failed me Alejandro." **_Silhouette sneered evenly. The Splicer at the foot of the alter sniffled, stifling a whimper as his mistress looked down upon him coldly.

"Please…I-I tried." He whispered out fearfully, unable to even look in Silhouette's direction.

**"**_**I know you did Alejandro. Unfortunately, that is not what I asked of you, and you know what happens to those who disappoint me." **_She stated smoothly, her eyes piercing holes in the Splicer.

"….Yes, my mistress." The Splicer got onto his knees in front of the alter, placing the hooks on his hands on either side of his neck and pulled with all his might, tearing out his own throat. Silhouette sighed in dissatisfaction. She had hopped that it would lift her spirits; sadly it was not to be.

**"**_**Shroud, gather the rest of the Lamia. The time for hiding has passed." **_

___

John ran up the steps of the poor house and banged on the door urgently as he looked over his shoulder. The last thing he needed was for Splicers to have followed him back, despite the bomb warning. The heavy double door swung open, and he found himself roughly yanked into the building.

The foyer of Fontaine's Center for the Poor had certainly seen better days. Trash and old newspaper articles seemed to feed fires that the inhabitants of the place ignored, thankful for the extra heat. There was a decaying wooden staircase that led to the next floor and John could see water trickling down the steps like a waterfall.

The Shogun let go of John as several of his men closed and locked the doors behind them. "Atlas wishes to see you. Top floor." With that, the Shogun turned away from him and called orders to his men in Japanese.

The Chief frowned at him but decided it was best not to waste time and proceeded up the stairs. John soon discovered that there were five floors to the building and one of Atlas' backup data cores was located in the attic.

This data center was quite a bit smaller than the one located in the manors and looked like it was thrown together with spare parts. He supposed that if it worked it didn't quite matter how it looked to the AI.

The minute he walked in Atlas' avatar appeared, and he looked even worse off then the last time he had seen him. Atlas was so distorted; John couldn't even make out his form anymore. It was just a flickering, pure white mess of hazardous data.

_"Yes, yes. I know! I look awful but, you try fighting off hacking attempts, watching your back, a splintering personality, and dealing with the loss of several of YOUR data centers and still come out fine."_ His voice sounded almost completely artificial now, with barely a hint of the accent he had once had. Strangely, John could still pick up the underlying frantic stress solely from the rushed out sentence. It was like the AI no longer had the time or patience to pronounce every last syllable or even put much space between the words. It reminded John of a certain AI pet snake he had met...without the yelling.

_"Several things. Harvey took quite the dosage of poison and an abundance of sedatives to his bloodstream. Subject Beta, is currently escorting him, against his will, back to Tenenbaum's hideout. They will rejoin you once he is well again." _This came out in a careless rush, as if he was in a hurry to get to other topics he deemed more important.

Partially, in curiosity and part to annoy Atlas, he asked, "Subject Beta?"

_"If you used your brain instead of your hard head once in a while you'd stay out of trouble more!" The AI snapped in nearly a snarl. John's eyebrows raised in surprise at the sudden short temper. "Subject Beta is also Private First Class, Bittermen. The Lieutenant merely refers to him as such for useless sentimentality reasons. There's truly little left of the ODST he once was, your soon-to-be brother in-law simply doesn't wish to see it. BACK to far more important matters, the ceiling fracture warning that the Lieutenant's contact set off did the trick of getting rid of a lot of the Splicers in the area. Unfortunately, it'll only be a matter of time before they realize they've been had. We must work quickly." _

A screen that had been previously blank lit up and a map of Rapture appeared with a red dot pinpointing a small region. _"I've located Silhouette's place of operation, Point Prometheus. However, her data center is located in Suchong's 'Free' Clinic in Mercury Suites."_

John's head shot up at that, "WAIT! Her data center?"

_"If you want to know more, question your in-house companion, I'm sure she knows far more than I." _A condescending sneer in his voice.

Confused and conflicted as to whether to take Atlas at his word or trust his long time friend, he hesitantly asked, "Cortana?"

_"John...I'm so sorry." _A certain amount of pain in her shaky voice as she stated this, he could almost see tears in violet eyes. Atlas broke into cruel laughter at this before it was abruptly turned into a shriek of pain and his systems went blank. A moment later the systems rebooted but not with Atlas in control.

An avatar of a woman, a sickly brownish green in color, appeared on Atlas' vacated holo-display.

_**"Hello Mother." **_

___**END OF CHAPTER SIX**___

_Afterwards:_

Dear Readers,

Oh, who didn't see that one coming a mile away?

-KTHM and a Mortified Mind

P.S. The reason this took so long was because of the fight scene, everything else had been done for days, just not the fight scene. We hate writing fight scenes so it takes forever. However, we continue to write them for your entertainment. Unfortunately, our thinker boxes hurt now so we might be taking a break for a little bit. See ya!


	42. Author's Note: Bushwhacked

THIS STORY IS OFFICIALLY **ON TEMPORARY HOLD**! AT LEAST UNTIL FANFICTION FIXES ITS GODDAMND UPLOADING SYSTEM! WE TRIED TO UPLOAD THE LATEST CHAPTER FIVE FUCKING TIMES ALREADY! AND IT STILL SCREWS IT UP BEYOND RECOGNITION! I MEAN SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS!

Our deepest Apologies,

-KTHM & Mortified Mind

P.S. That phantom Alert some of you received a few days ago was from when we attempted to upload the latest chapter, but we deleted it when FF removed all our spaces between paragraphs and added ones that weren't originally there, not to mention our page breaks. It didn't seem to matter how many times we attempted to fix it in Document Manager, it still was all fucked up. Sorry for the inconvenience guys. Remember this is only a temporary Hiatus.

-KTHM and a Mortified Mind


	43. Author's Note: IMPORTANT!

From the desk of:

Mortified Mind.

Greetings faithful Halo: Rapture patrons! Okay, as you know, we've been having problems with uploading our chapters. Chief among them is that all our dividing lines keep disappearing, and most recently, we discovered that this anomaly occurred throughout the entire story!

Now, has any of you gone back to a story you've written a long time ago and have not in read in like a year or more? One of your first stories? Well…we did, and…wow! What were we thinking? Just thinking about all those plot holes and grammatical errors made our heads explode! Don't get us wrong, we're still proud of this story and you all seem to like it, for some reason.

However, Myself and KTHM have been seriously discussing a Redux version of this story, and now it is officially what we decided to do. There was just SO much we should have done and could've done but, didn't. In our weak defense…we didn't think anyone would even like this story, so we didn't give it the true attention it deserved.

Still though, come on! I bet the second you saw the words BioShock and Halo together in the same sentence, you thought to yourself: "What the fuck?" I'll also wager you were either bored or just felt like punishing yourself for something you did... Wait? Where was I? Oh, yes. The Redux. We are going to go back and fix and clean up the story a bit maybe add a few scenes, change some dialogue, change the first act to a third person POV to better suit KTHM's writing style and some other things to make re-reading it just a little more interesting.

On that note. We would like to know what you would like to see in this version. Review in and comment please, because remember we just write this crap, but, you're the ones who read it. For instance, we were thinking of adding new characters in the beginning. KTHM will post their dossiers on her profile as well as a new poll on which one you would like to see or both or none. Like I said, we don't care one way or the other.

From the desk of:

KTHM

Despite wanting to add new characters, it does not mean Zee' and the Major well not be in the story, so don't worry fellow Sangheili fans. I wouldn't take them out no matter what.

We aren't posting the new Redux until its finished. In other words, not until we fix up to Act Two, at least. Until then, vote for your choice on the poll and we'll get back to you when the Redux is up with another Author's note.

Also, for those bored or interested (or in a category of both) I have another story up, which is something of a prequel to Halo: Rapture. It features short stories of those living in Rapture before the fall, look at that on my profile if you'd like because I'll continue it if you guys want me to.


	44. Interlude: The Ghosts That Linger

**Readers (HEY, READ THIS!),**

Here's the deal, our Dad was recently diagnosed with Emphysema and have been TRYING to get him to take better care of himself, so we haven't much time to work on the story much. Furthermore, we have decided we will NOT be doing a Redux of the story due to viewer demand and just continue with the story as is.

Although we have been working on the chapter, despite having a little over two thirds done, we're not satisfied with it. It'll be a while before it's out because we are waiting for it to be perfect and as we all know this story is all about perfection- THERE'S NO LAUGH THERE! *Evil Glare* There's also the problem of a lack of...what do you call those headaches with pictures? Right! IDEAS! A lack of ideas!

However, we felt that we needed to leave you with something so this cobbled together Interlude was born. Sorry about the cliff hanger, that'll be explained away next chapter, hope you weren't too miffed.

Also, for those of you who don't know (get off your ass and look it up, it's on the Bioshock Wiki site) Roscoe Inman is from, _'There's Something In the Sea'_, and we plan to do a short story on that before the sequel to Halo: Rapture is put up. That'll, of course, be a long way from here, but it shall be done.

Speaking of short stories, it's self promoting whoring time. We have a series of short stories up that's basically a prequel to Halo: Rapture about the citizens of our favorite underwater city. Go, read, and request a character! Or don't, but I'd like it if you did. Anyway, it's called Halo: Rapture Fall of Utopia, the link to it is obviously on KTHM's profile...so, yeah.

Thanks for you for your extraordinary amount of patients in this matter and enjoy the Interlude.

-KTHM and A Mortified Mind

P.S.

This Interlude is dedicated to the reviewer, TTrunks, for helping us see the light! Thanks a bunch!

-KTHM and A Mortified Mind

**Halo: Rapture**

**Interlude: The Ghosts That Linger**

OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE,

Universal Astronomical Intelligence Center,

ONI Gamma Sight, Maryland Zone, North America,

Office of the Director,

_Dear Ensign Flann McDonagh:_

_Your request for information regarding the __Missing Persons __has been forwarded to my office due to a current investigation I am conducting. I have heard from your direct superiors that you have been conduction your own inquiries, __off the record__, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could forward said documents to my department. In return, I intend to __turn over all information__; I can regarding your missing family members._

_Ensign, ONI would greatly appreciate your __discretion __on the current matter as any press, good or bad, could hinder this investigation. We __thank you __in advance for your cooperation in this matter and please advise us if we may be of assistance in expediting this request. _

Sincerely,

ROSCOE Z. INMAN, . UNSCDF

United Nations Inquiry Division

Office of Legislative Liaison

**BREAK-HR Interlude-BREAK**

OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE,

Universal Astronomical Intelligence Center,

ONI Gamma Sight, Maryland Zone, North America,

Office of the Director,

_Dear Ensign Flann McDonagh:_

_I commend your independent research on the matter at hand and appreciate your __candidacy__. I understand your __upset__, but I assure you that you __are not the only one __with missing relatives in this day and age. _

_On that note, I hope you found my information as useful as I found yours, and I hope to __continue our work __together in the future. Tell me, have you ever considered transferring from active ship duty to a more __grounded job__? If so, let me know, I think I know just the place for you, __Lieutenant (?)__. _

_Don't worry, we'll find these __Missing Persons__, and we'll find them soon, no matter their __current state__._

_However, I have to tell you that there's more at stake here than just these people __(?)__. _

Sincerely,

ROSCOE Z. INMAN, . UNSCDF

United Nations Inquiry Division

Office of Legislative Liaison

**BREAK-HR Interlude-BREAK**

"_Arbiter, this is Lieutenant Commander Inman responding to your inquiries. That particular section of space was labeled a 'no-go zone' after one of our richer citizens bought it quite unexpectedly a few decades ago. I don't know why or what for, hell, I'm surprised that they even allowed Mister...Ryan, I believe, to buy it. Things like buying a section of space doesn't normally occur, but Andrew Ryan was one of the richest people in the UNSC. As I understand it, he had quite a bit of sway, especially after he promised to stop poking into affairs that were, frankly, none of his business as a civilian." _A long sigh could be heard in the recording.

"_Unfortunately, it would seem that it will take a bit of doing before I can cut off the bureaucratic red tape surrounding this issue. Until then, you do not have permission to operate in that area, unless you wish to cause some…tension between our races once again. Though, to be honest, I don't see what the big deal is, Andrew Ryan disappeared years ago, and I don't think he's going to 'resurface' anytime soon. It seems Ryan still has some friends in high places, and it really doesn't matter what I think about the matter." _There's a pause and the sound of paper being shifted around can be heard.

"_I'll do everything I can to get you permission to traverse Ryan's 'ghost zone' in a quick and timely manner…I'd like to know what Ryan has going on in there anyway, and I'm not alone in that curiosity. Have a nice day." _End of Recording.

**BREAK-HR Interlude-BREAK**

OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE,

Universal Astronomical Intelligence Center,

ONI Gamma Sight, Maryland Zone, North America,

Office of the Director,

_Dear Mrs. Gwen Bittermen:_

_I am well aware of your plight about your missing husband and his squad. Private, First Class Ira Bittermen was a fine soldier, and I am often regaled of tales of his and a certain wayward Lieutenant's exploits by friends of mine who have had their squad serve under them in the past. I am truly sorry for your loss, but I am not sure what it is you want me to do about it. I'm afraid I don't have the authority to revise his status from KIA to MIA, and I have even less of an ability to organize a search once more. _

_Soldiers die all the time, Mrs. Bittermen, they wake up everyday with that possibility firmly in mind, and I'm sure your husband, as an ODST, is no exception. I think its time to let go. Be thankful that you and your children survived the Battle for Earth. I'm not trying to be heartless Mrs. Bittermen, just realistic. However, for what little it's worth, I'm sorry. _

Sincerely,

ROSCOE Z. INMAN, . UNSCDF

United Nations Inquiry Division

Office of Legislative Liaison

**BREAK-HR Interlude-BREAK**

A young teenager walked down the dimly lit halls with her arms full of papers. Normally, a fifteen year old civilian wouldn't be working as a secretary at an ONI building, but everyone was short on extra hands and willing to take who they could get. So, naturally, here she was, in the forgotten basement levels of the Gamma site, delivering mail. She stopped in front of a plain unmarked door and fumbled with the numerous objects in her arms to knock. The young teen almost immediately received a muffled consent to walk into the cramped, cluttered room.

The space in the small room was taken up by a clutter of boxes, file cabinets, papers, and data crystals strewn about everywhere. "Sir?" The teen called uncertainly as she gazed around the office, looking for the man she worked for. A single hand stuck up from behind numerous file cabinets and stacked together boxes somewhere in the maze he had unintentionally made, "Here, Suzie."

Suzie gingerly stepped around the clutter while at the same time holding on to the papers in her arms and reached her boss' desk. Lieutenant Commander, Roscoe Inman, was hunched over a, surprisingly, neat desk if you ignored the numerous empty coffee cups. He had circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess, and he hadn't bothered with wearing the full ONI uniform. Inman was alternating between gazing at his laptop and looking at an old file that looked like an ancient police report.

"Mail, sir." She said a little timidly as she carefully set the papers down on a clear spot on the floor. He looked up with a slight scowl as he imagined what the mail contained.

"More letters? What is this? Have we been reassigned to the mail room and no one bothered to tell me?" Inman asked gruffly as he set the police report down and picked up the only full coffee cup on his desk, not even caring that the liquid had gone cold hours ago.

Suzie shifted a little nervously; it seemed the man was always in a foul mood. Then again, she figured she wouldn't be all roses, hookers and sunshine if she had been tasked with his assignment. Truly, a dead-end job that no one figured would go anywhere. She vaguely wondered just who he had pissed off to be punished like this. "Not just that, the star charts you requested arrived." Suzie answered in her normal chirpy voice as she presented to him one of the rolled up documents.

Inman grabbed it almost immediately, without a word and Suzie's eyes wandered the room as she waited for his verdict. There was a bulletin board on the wall behind his desk that had numerous documents and pictures tacked to it.

A few things caught her eye, like a letter that had odd symbols written on it, and it was signed with the initials: _OOL_. Next to that, slightly hidden under the odd letter, was a picture of the Ryan family. Andrew, Diane, John and Anastasia Ryan. They were dressed neatly and posing as if they were going to get their portrait painted. Just under that picture was a copy of a death certificate for John Ryan. Other things stood out as well, like a letter from Flann McDonagh and an old magazine article about the disappearances of leading scientists and other famous individuals.

"Huh." Suzie jerked her head to look at her boss and saw him carefully set the chart on his desk and grab a red marker. She watched apprehensively as he began to draw and circle things before he dropped the marker. "Is Lord Hood back?" He asked as he began to quickly shift through the data crystals on his desk in search of the right one.

"On Earth, you mean? Yes, he's been back for a week or so." She answered as she toyed with a strand of her curly red hair, a slight frown marring her young face. He really did lose track of time easily down here.

"Could you get a message to him, this is very important, listen closely-" Suddenly the lights and all electronic devices cut out, leaving the pair in complete darkness.

The intercom system, that ran on a back-up generator suddenly crackled to life. _"The powers out sir, it'll be awhile before we have everything up and running again. Just kinda stay put 'cause the emergency doors have slid shut, and we can't pry them open until the main generator kicks up again."_ Though, she couldn't see it, she heard the tell tale sound of Inman's head hitting his desk in frustration. '_Welcome to Perdition.' _Suzie thought. It was likely that idiot third secretary to Admiral 'what's his face' Bill. Jackass was probably making popcorn while other people were trying to work!

"Never mind...say, do you know where my flashlight went?" As Suzie went shuffling through the dozens of filing cabinets looking for the ever more frequently used flashlights, Inman came across an old Holo-Photo and a reminder of why he took this dead end job. In the photo were two men standing side by side grinning like idiots in their dress uniforms, holding extremely alcoholic drinks in their hands. In the picture, Inman now proudly showed off a shiny new medal on his chest while Harvey attempted to dump his drink over his friend's head...the same Harvey that had disappeared, leaving behind an ex-wife and two little kids.

Inman had sworn to have the other man's back, no matter what happened, and he wouldn't stop until he dragged his friend back home or recovered a body.

**BREAK-HR Interlude-BREAK**

OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE,

Universal Astronomical Intelligence Center,

ONI Gamma Sight, Maryland Zone, North America,

Office of the Director,

_Dear Lord Hood:_

_I wanted to thank you personally in regards to making all the materials necessary for my investigations available to me. Why is still a mystery to me, but never look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Also…there was something I wanted to inquire about, if it's not too personal. In my investigations, I came across some interesting files on certain ops outside UNSC space, the same space the Arbiter has been asking about. Now, you can tell me its none of my damn business and send me to the weather station on IO, for all I care. However, this particular ops, "STILLWATER" I believe, may be the keystone to this whole thing. _

_I know that everything has turned to hell, and you have better things to do than pander to my small cause but I'm THIS close to finding out what happened to more than HALF of Earths best & brightest in art, science, engineering, etcetera. I also know that most HIGHCOM thinks I'm bat shit crazy and that's why I'm kept in the basement of ONI headquarters. Just keep this in mind…if you are, in fact, reading this, these people might still, be alive and with the way things are at the moment... All I am saying is that maybe we should let the Arbiter through the 'no-go zone', let him report back any findings and go from there._

Sincerely,

ROSCOE Z. INMAN, ., UNSCDF

United Nations Inquiry Division

Office of Legislative Liaison

_P.S. Not to be nosy, but on my list of Missing Persons I saw a one, Charlotte Cranston Hood, Professor of advanced particle physics. It also says she was recently divorced before her disappearance. It, however, does not say from whom I was just wondering sir…. Never mind that's too personal a question, forget I ever asked._

_-ROSCOE Z. INMAN, . UNSCDF_


End file.
